


Deep Blue Wonderland

by Noizchild



Series: Wasteland 2011 [16]
Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Death, Gen, Human Experimentation, Lost Memories, Sexual Slavery, Snuff Films, Wasteland, missing people
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-04
Updated: 2017-01-25
Packaged: 2018-07-29 05:52:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 27
Words: 71,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7672588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noizchild/pseuds/Noizchild
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fifth volume is up. Second of three stories that follow my poem, "Wasteland 2011" and the core story. The Tadpole Project awakens and drags the former patients back into its misery. Mikado finds himself back into the thick of it. Meanwhile, his friends end up being pulled into their own nightmares in Tandeki's game. Meanwhile, Tandeki systemically continues to isolate the children.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chirin

Deep Blue Wonderland

Halo Zero: Chirin:

-January-

Hazy blue eyes drew open to the dimly sunlight through the windows of the room.

Three days after Yuka injected patient's arm for the first time.

Ryugamine Mikado started to become more aware of his surroundings albeit still in a fog. His wrists and ankles were tied down to his bed again. He moved his head towards the ceiling. The patient started to remember little things about himself once again. He was trapped in Chou Mori Institution, barely on bogus charges for god only knows the reasons. That crazy doctor stopped by his room to talk to him about some philosophical dog shit that he could barely understand. He, the patient, was a high school student, therefore a minor whose details of the case couldn't be shared with the public. That was all that he could piece together for the time being. The number of drugs the doctor and that lady doctor injected him with kept messing with his head. Speaking of which, the last round last night still made his body ache. Even through all of that, still one thought remained.

_I can't stay here._

Mikado looked down at his ankles tied to the bed railing. For some reason tonight, his bindings didn't look all that tight. Maybe the orderly on duty just wanted to go home early or something. Mikado's eyes widened when it donned on him.

_Just… maybe…_

Mikado's eyes trailed up towards his wrists tied above his head. On instinct, he began to try and slip his right wrist out of his bindings. At first, his hand couldn't go through the loop. He began trying to pull his wrist out faster.

_Just a little more…_

His right wrist slipped out of the loop after a few tries. A sense of relief washed over him as it dropped to his side. Despite being messed up in the head, instinct was clear enough for him to try and escape. Such of force didn't allow for rational thought as Mikado slid out his left hand and then his feet. He sat up in the stiff bed. The patient felt like he was dreaming as he rose to his feet. His head felt like it was underwater as he began to walk.

His vision was tunneled as he walked down the darkened hall. His legs felt like rubber with each heavy step that he took.

Step. Step. Step. Step.

_When did this hall get so long?_

Instinct didn't give room for a sense of direction or a proper plan. All Mikado knew how to do was walk down the hall as slowly as his weakened body would allow.

Step. Step. Step. Step.

He collapsed against the wall, but used his hands to hold himself up. The overpowering scent of bleach made Mikado's head spin. He took in deep breath before pulling himself up and walking again. After what felt like a long walk, Mikado reached out and felt cold metal. His hand closed around the door knob and turned it to the right. A cool breeze hit him in the face before luring him inside.

Mikado didn't recognize his own face as he looked up and saw his reflection in the wall-sized mirror over a sink porcelain sink. He stared with no expression. The longer his eyes stayed on the glass, the more little memories about himself began to come back. Yes, this was what he looked like. The patient remembered his short, spiky black hair and slender frame. Okay, he seemed to have lost a good deal of weight with the way his grey shirt hung off of his shoulders. So this was what Ryugamine Mikado looked like after months of staying in Chou Mori.

Hang on…

The patient took another look.

_Left… Right… Left… Right… Left… Right… Left… Right… Left…_

That realization alone was enough to "wake him up".

_What happened to my eye?!_

* * *

Yuka walked down the same hallway, looking around. She bit her lower lip as she tapped her foot. _Oh god!_ The orderly put her hands on her head. Yuka had just started her shift and already she ran into a problem. It amazed her that he managed to slip out of his bindings so easily. She lowered her hands and took in deep breaths.

 _Calm down, he couldn't have gotten far. Think! If I was a mental patient, where would I go in this early in the morning?_ Yuka closed her eyes and tried to picture herself as said patient. She took in another breath to help her think.

_I am a patient. I am a patient. I am…_

Yuka opened her eyes in a flash. "Of course!" She ran down the hall all the way to the opened door. When she looked in the small bathroom, the orderly put her hand over her heart and as she breathed out.

"Oh there you are, Chirin-kun!" the orderly said. Mikado froze when her voice. The orderly walked over and turned him to face her. A warm, fuzzy feeling filled her chest as she looked at the panic growing in the patient's eyes.

"You had me so worried," Yuka said. "Roc is always half-assed with his work sometimes. If you wanted to go to the bathroom, you should've pushed the button under your bed. Please don't scare me like that." However, the dark blue-haired orderly just then noticed Chirin's left eye.

"What is…?" she asked. Yuka grabbed Mikado by the wrist and ran out of the bathroom.

"Sensei!" she shouted, banging on Kitano's office door. "There's something wrong with! Chirin! Come quick!" The orderly backed up as her boss opened his door.

"What's the problem?" he asked, frowning. "I'm in the middle of my research!" Yuka shoved Mikado forward.

"Sensei, look!" she shouted. "His eyes… it's green now!" Kitano leaned down to the boy's face and examined his now-bright green left eye. He broke into a smile.

"Ah, good, good," the therapist said.

"Huh?" Yuka asked with a puzzled look on her face. Kitano patted Chirin on the head as he turned to his new protégé.

"This means the experiments from our project is working."

"Project?"

"Come with me." Kitano and Yuka walked Chirin back to his bed. This time, the dark blue-haired orderly tightened the patient's bindings on his wrists and ankles. She smiled and patted him on the head.

"We can't have little Chirin-kun up wandering the halls unattended, now can we?" Yuka asked. Kitano reached into his coat pocket and pulled out an eyepatch.

"What are you doing?" the orderly asked as he placed it over Mikado's right eye.

"This is to keep his left eye from becoming lazy," the therapist said. "When the good eye covered up, the other one will be forced to do all of the work. Of course, we will have to check it every day to see if it does heal."

"Then what happens?"

"We will have to see, won't we?"

Chirin was abandoned again in his bed again, tied up with a green, blind eye.

* * *

-Present Day-

Etsuko pulled out her cell phone as she looked down upon the city from her office at Rampo Biotech.

"Hello, sweetheart. Yes, I am heading the second round and you'll get a huge role. Yes, yes. Look, I can't have you going crazy this time. Yes, you about killed all of our players last time. No, no, hear me out. It feels solid this time and we can't afford to start over when it feels so strong. Aw sweetheart, don't be like that. Look, I will make it worth your while for the time being. I promise, sweetheart. I promise."

The doctor's lips curved into a smirk.

"Good," Etsuko said. "Now, how would you like to go on a little shark hunt?"

* * *

-Hours Earlier-

Masaomi eyed Mikado once his friend managed to calm down in his apartment.

"Mikado," he said in a low voice. "I know this is going to be hard for you, but please tell me what all do you remember? Take your time if you need to." Mikado gulped as he began to take himself back to the time before being committed.

"I… I… I don't know," the other boy said. "There was blood, so much blood. I don't remember who was there." Mikado's body trembled. He could smell that blood like he did that night.

"What happened?" Masaomi asked. Mikado shook head.

"I don't know."

"How did you end up in Chou Mori?"

"I don't know." Mikado's memories came out jumbled up. He could see the blood on his hands and on his clothes. The former patient couldn't remember where he was or why it happened.

"The police arrested me," he said. Masaomi gave him a strange look.

"For what?" he asked.

"I don't remember. I ended up in the police station. They kept asking me questions, but I didn't know what they were talking about." Mikado buried his head in his hands. "I'm so sorry. I can't really remember much else before I ended up at Chou Mori. My head hurts trying to remember anything."

"It's okay," Masaomi said as he pulled his friend into his arms. Mikado rested his head on his chest.

"And you're sure that these memories are real?" the blonde-haired boy asked. "Maybe they are just some sort of a trick that they are pulling on all of us."

"No," Mikado said muzzled against his friend's chest.

"I'm sorry?" Masaomi's eyes happened to catch his friend's desperate ones.

"These are real," his friend said. "I know they are. I can feel it." Masaomi struggled to say something, but no response could justify what he had just heard. It all reminded him of another thought.

_Wait, if Mikado was really in Chou Mori, then does that mean Saki-chan's really gonna…_

Masaomi came to reality when his cell phone rang. "Excuse me." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

"Hello?" the blonde-haired boy asked.

"Masaomi-kun?" a girl's voice asked on the other line. His heart jumped before he calmed down.

"Saki-chan?" Masaomi asked.

"Are you okay?"

"Uh… yeah, yeah. How are you?"

"Good. I just called to with you a Merry Christmas."

Masaomi didn't know why he said this next thing. "Thanks, uh… hey, could you stop by a bakery and pick up a cake?"

"What for?"

Masaomi looked down at Mikado now laying in his lap. "I'll explain when you get here, just go pick up the cake and meet me back here."

"Alright…"

"And Saki-chan?"

"What?"

Masaomi pressed his lips together. "Please be careful."

"Masaomi-kun?"

"Please!"

Saki went quiet over the other line before she said, "Okay."

"Call me after you get the cake, okay?"

"Okay."

Masaomi hung up and lowered his phone. He only hoped that Saki would make it through the day alive.

* * *

Harima Mika knocked on Anri's door around ten in morning. Although she practically clung to Seiji with all of her being, she had to slip away while he slept to give Anri this message. She would have to be quick before her need for her boyfriend took over her judgement. The obsessed girl looked up when she heard the door opening. Anri peeked out with a confused look on her face.

"Mika… where's Seiji?" she asked.

"Are you alone right now?" Mika asked.

"Well… yes…"

"I don't have much time to say this."

"What do you mean?"

Mika grabbed her friends by the hands. "You are in serious trouble. It's not just you. Mikado, Masaomi, Noriko, and Chiharu are in danger too." Anri should've been alerted by this. In fact, she should've been frightened by what her friend was saying.

"You've told me this before, haven't you?" Saika's Mother asked instead.

"Yes," her friend admitted. Anri began to remember the same thing happening before. Mika came to her apartment alone and warned her that she and her friends were being hunted by something, or rather someone. She couldn't remember the exact name.

"Who is targeting us?" Anri asked.

"The Tandeki Group," Mika said. Her friend was about to speak when her cell phone rang.

"Could you hold on a second?" Anri asked. She drew out her phone from her pocket. "Hello?"

"Anri!" Masaomi exclaimed on the other line. "Saki-chan and I are spending Christmas with Mikado at his place. Come and join us!"

"Wait, right now?" she asked.

"Yes! Could you bring some chocolate or something? Saki brought us cake and I'll see if Chi can bring some KFC or something. Please?" He sounded like a little child wanting to play in the falling snow outside. Anri looked up at Mika.

"Go!" the obsessive girl mouthed at her.

"You sure?" her friend mouthed back. Mika nodded. Anri turned back to her phone.

"Okay…" she said.

"Great!" Masaomi said. "We'll see you soon!" He hung up before the girl in glasses could ask questions.

"We'll talk again later," Mika said in a serious tone.

"You sure?" Anri asked.

"Yes," the obsessive girl said as she turned to leave. She glanced over her shoulder. "Please be careful and get as far away from this city as you can." As much as Anri wanted to listen to that last piece of advice, something inside of her told her that she couldn't; not yet anyway.

Moments later, Anri met up with Chiharu and Noriko on her way to Mikado's apartment. Chiharu looked at the other two girls with a box of KFC in her hands.

"Any care to tell us why Masaomi told us to bring different food items to Mikado's place?" she asked. Anri and Noriko shook their heads confused.

"Alright," Chiharu said. "This better be good." The girls walked by Yagiri Namie's missing poster plastered on a bus station.

* * *

-Now-

Etsuko knocked on Kitano's office door.

"Enter," the therapist said. The doctor opened the door and walked inside. Kitano looked up from packing up his paperwork for the night.

"Everything set?" he asked.

"Yes, Katsuhiro," Etsuko said.

"She's not going to be a problem this time, will she?"

"No sir, in fact I gave her a job to do to tide her over as we get to work."

"Good, good."

"That's all I came to say. Good night."

Kitano closed his file. "Actually, stay for a bit. There is something else I want to go over real quick."

"Something else?" Etsuko asked.

"About Chirin and the other tadpoles," he said.

"Oh?" she asked.

* * *

-Hours Earlier-

Anri, Chiharu, and Noriko made it to Mikado's apartment. Chiharu knocked on the door. Masaomi greeted them with a huge grin on his face.

"Welcome!" he said. Chiharu raised an eyebrow at him.

"Mind telling us what this is all about?" she asked. Masaomi held out his arms.

"You are invited to our little Christmas party!" he said.

"Huh?" the girls asked.

"Well, don't just stand out there!" he said. "Come inside already!" The loud blonde-haired boy coaxed the girls into the apartment, closing the door behind them.


	2. Hya-Chan

Halo One: Hya-Chan:

December 23rd, 1986.

Makoto awoke in the middle of the night when his hand felt along the empty side of his futon. He lifted his head and looked around in the dark. He was about to ask when he heard sobbing coming from the bathroom. Makoto dashed over to the light coming from the open door in the hall. A woman lay on the floor huddled up and weeping. Her long black hair lay spread out as she had her knees to her chest.

"Hya-chan?" Makoto whispered. He rushed over to his wife side and pulled her into his arms. She wept against his chest.

"Shhh," her husband whispered as he rested his chin on her head. "It's okay. It's okay."

"Why did God take him from us?" his wife whimpered. "Why is he punishing me like this? What did I do wrong? What did I do?" A month passed and she still hadn't gotten over the loss of their ten-month-old son. She collapsed at his funeral en route for the cremation. Because of that, Hyacinth Girl spent the rest of the ceremony in the hospital.

"Nobody's punishing you," Makoto whispered. "Accidents like this happen."

"But he was only a baby!" She broke down sobbing on his chest. This looked like it would be just like last night. Hya-chan wasn't her upbeat self lately. Makoto lifted her chin.

"What's the matter, Hya-chan?" he asked in a low voice. "You've not been yourself lately." His wife sniffled as more tears formed in her eyes.

"I can't have you like this," Makoto complained. "You're crying all the time. You barely get out of bed anymore. You don't want to eat. Anything I try to suggest that you love, you don't care about anymore. You even stopped going to church." He sighed and shook his head.

"What am I going to do with you, huh?" he asked. It hurt Makoto's heart to see such a beautiful face in despair. She deserved to only have days where she could smile. Her most perfect smile was when their son was born. Makoto kissed Hya-chan on the forehead.

"I want to help you, I really do," he whispered in her hair. "But I can't do that if you won't talk to me." All he got in response was more sobs and crying.

Makoto visited her in the hospital on the day of the funeral. They did this before on the day they found out that she was pregnant. She had just come to when he came to the doorway.

"Makoto-kun?" Hya-chan asked in a small voice. The husband caught his breath.

"What happened to you there?" he asked.

"The doctors say I have irregular grieving," she said in an uneven pace. Her husband walked into the room and sat on the bed.

"I don't think so," Makoto said as he pushed her hair from her eyes. "You're just tired." Her face looked too worn out from all of the crying. He pressed his forehead against hers.

"How long are you in here for?" he asked.

"I can go home in the morning," Hya-chan said. Her body began trembling. "I hate hospitals."

"Yes, I know."

"They smell like death." Tears welled up in her eyes. "I can't stand it anymore." Hya-chan grabbed onto his black jacket. "Make it stop. I think I'm going to be sick." Makoto pulled her to his chest.

"We will get through this," her husband whispered. "I'm not going to leave you." Makoto stayed by his wife's bed as she slept for the rest of the day.

* * *

By Christmas time, Makoto noticed that things were getting worse. He awoke that morning when he heard Hyacinth Girl talking to somebody in the living room. He tilted his head, blinking. _When did we get guests over?_ He climbed out of their futon and walked into the living room to investigate. Makoto found Hya-chan sitting on their couch alone, smiling.

"Hya-chan, who were you talking to just now?" her husband asked.

"Our son," she said in a calm voice.

"Sweetheart, he's dead," Makoto said, walking forward. "We had him cremated last month, remember?"

"No, he's still alive. I can feel him!"

"Honey, are you feeling okay?" Makoto put his hand on his wife's forehead, but she slapped his hand away.

"How can you be so cruel? He's alive! He's alive!"

"Baby..."

Hya-chan clenched her fists as tears welled up in her eyes. "You have no heart! You monster!" She broke down crying. Makoto stood horrified. This wasn't simple grief anymore. His wife began to cuddle with an empty buddle in her arms.

"Papa's acting strange, yeah?" she asked as she bounced it up and down gently.

* * *

Makoto couldn't afford to have somebody watch over his wife while he was away at work. Still, he had to do something before he would be with a son _and_ a wife. First, Makoto went to her church the day after Christmas. _I will get you back to normal_ , he thought as he knocked on the priest's door. _Please hang on a little bit longer!_ An older man in black robes opened the door with his eyes narrowed.

"Yes?" he asked. Makoto quickly bowed as he swallowed his pride.

"I need your help!" he said in one breath. The priest raised an eyebrow, blinking.

"I'm sorry… but who exactly are you?" he asked.

"It's my wife! I think she's become depressed!"

"Alright, but who is your wife?" It donned on the priest who he was talking to when Makoto said Hya-chan's real name.

"Oh," the priest said. "Why didn't you say so earlier? How has she been since your son's death? We haven't seen her in church lately."

"Not so good," Makoto said. "She won't eat or sleep. She always crying. She barely gets out of bed anymore and it's getting worse. Yesterday, she was acting like our baby was still alive."

"What?"

Makoto put his hands to his head. "I don't know what to do. Can't you help her?"

The priest listened with a serious look on his face. "Have you taken her to see a doctor?"

"I tried that and they say let her grief. I have been doing that and that's why she's gotten worse."

"Okay…"

Makoto desperately grabbed him by the hands. "Can't you say anything to snap her out of it or something?" The priest gently pushed back his hands.

"My son, do not worry," he said. "We will pray for your wife. Turn her over to God, he will take care of her." It took Makoto's all not to scream in his face.

"Just like he 'took care' of our son?" he asked.

"Well, God has a reason for everything," the priest said. "We will keep her in our prayers." He might as well have just slapped the atheist man in the face. Makoto snorted.

"Prayers won't keep my wife from joining our son!" he snapped. The man turned and stormed out of the church.

"Why the hell did I come to this stupid place away?" he muttered under his breath.

* * *

With nowhere else to turn, Makoto dreaded the very last resort he had arrived to. The day after New Year's Day, he found himself walking through the doors of Chou Mori Institution. He explained his story to the chief director. The older man behind the desk pushed up his glasses.

"Why did you go to the church first?" he asked. "Why not come to us?" Makoto shrugged and shook his head.

"I don't know," he said. "My wife is Catholic and thought that her church would be able to snap her out of it." The director placed his hands on the desk.

"Depression isn't something most people 'snap' out of," he said. "They need proper treatment."

"Can you help her?" Makoto asked. "I'm afraid that she might hurt herself or worse if this keeps up." The director pushed up his glasses.

"That will depend of your insurance," he said.

"We don't have any insurance," the other man said. "We are poor and I am struggling to make ends meet. Can you do this pro bono? My wife really needs help! I don't know what else to do here!" He held his breath as the director thought about the situation for a moment.

"We don't do pro bono here at Chou Mori," the older man said. "But, I do have a therapist here that needs a little motivation with his work around here." Makoto leaned in, slamming his hands on the desk.

"I'll take it," he said. The director handed him a packet of papers.

"Please read over everything, fill out the information, and sign at the bottom of the last page," he said. Makoto bowed his head.

"Thank you, sir," he said. The man began to read over the information before signing his wife over to Chou Mori for six months.

The next day brought a light snow fall as Makoto drove a numb and broken Hya-chan to Chou Mori for her to be in the care of Kitano Katsuhiro-sensei.


	3. Yuka

Halo Two: Yuka:

-Yuka on her background-

I tied my long dark blue hair into a ponytail before I walked into my classroom for the start of the spring semester.

My name is Ogawa Yuka and I used to be an orderly at Chou Mori Institution. My dad wanted my two older brothers to be doctors just like him and me to be a housewife. However, his plan fell apart when they just didn't care and left home to do whatever they wanted. One of them came back and he still didn't care. My dad begrudgingly put his doctor dreams on me.

I walked over to my seat at the front of the classroom and sat down.

"Good morning, Ogawa-san," Kaoru, my friend from class, greeted me at her seat.

"Morning," I said.

"How was your break?"

"Really good. I have new job now."

"Wow, you really are a workaholic."

I didn't really have an interest in being a doctor when I was twenty-three. It was just something my dad just shoved on me. My brothers and I came from a family of doctors. Dad just had to keep the tradition going on. I didn't really care either, but I did just to shut him up. I just figured I would take the entrance exam, go to med school, graduate, and follow the tradition. My attitude changed when I met Chirin.

Our professor opened the class with introductions on herself, what to expect for the class, and what we would need. The whole time, I took notes and asked questions. I went up to the front at the end of class and handed her my paperwork explaining on my conditions about me working with Kitano-sensei and Asato-sensei on my new job. She read over the form and signed at the bottom.

"Thank you, sensei," I said, bowing. Four more signatures to go for this semester. I stopped in the hall and did a quick count in my head. I would just need to get two more today and the other two tomorrow.

I remember the first time I met Chirin-kun. I had just started working at Chou Mori three days prior on January seventh. Dad wasn't going to pay for me to take the entrance exam for Raira Medical University.

"My father never paid for me to get into school and his father didn't either," he told me when I graduated high school. "You will be no different." At the time, I had taken some orderly training courses at the community college I had just completed. After months of job-hunting and Dad nagging me to get a job, I came across an ad online from Chou Mori Institution looking for new orderlies. Not my first choice, but I needed the money to take that entrance exam. So, I applied in October. By December, they finally called me back.

"Are you still looking for a job?" the director asked me on the other line that morning.

"Yes!" I yelped as I sat up in bed.

"Can you come in for an interview this afternoon at three?"

"Yes, I can, sir!"

"Alright, I will see you then."

"Thank you, sir." It was all I could do not to squeal so loud to not wake up Dad. Four interviews later and I became an orderly at Chou Mori.

Three days later, Kitano-sensei approached me and said that he wanted me to observe a particular patient with him. Without much thought, I said that I would. From that first injection into Chirin's arm, my ambitions and obsession were born.

-Shinra-

Shinra was about to nod off to sleep in front of his computer when he jerked himself awake. He frowned when he realized what he was doing again. His father and Izaya had him looking up two different things. He didn't mind looking up that patient from Hokuto Keiko Hospital. In fact, he was about finished when Shingen called him up.

"Son, I need your help," he said. Shinra had a dull look on his face over the phone.

"Why?" he asked.

"It's just something really quick," his dad said. "I just need you to look at this particular project for me."

"Why?"

"Come on, it won't take long."

To his relief, Shinra found himself saved by an incoming call from Izaya. "Uh… I've got to go." The doctor switched lines before his father could say another word.

"Hello?" Shinra asked.

"Shinra!" Izaya said. "I need you to look up something else for me really quick."

The doctor raised an eyebrow. "Namie is still missing?"

"Yes. I really wish that I could look up this project, but somehow I keep getting blocked off. The last time I tried to look into it, they killed the hard drive in my computer."

One certain word caught Shinra's attention. "What kind of project?"

"Project Tadpole," Izaya said.

"Hold that thought," the doctor said. He switched back over to his dad. "Uh… about that project. What's the name of it?"

"Project Tadpole," Shingen said. "Are you going to help us out?"

So here was Shinra up at about one in the morning reading over the old files from Chou Mori Institution. He only had the information on the surface. Chou Mori was founded outside of Ikebukuro in 1965. Initially, it started out with a place with good intentions. Genji Kozue opened Chou Mori as a safe harbor for the mentally ill as a way to cure them and help them back into society. However, something went horribly wrong.

Shinra clicked the link to go to the next page. Most of the links on this online archive were dead. His dad didn't give him much to work with. Izaya swore up and down that he would try and dig up better information as soon as possible. Night one and Shinra came up with a whole lot of nothing.

Okay, there were some rumors about human experimentation dating all the way back to 1987. Nobody seemed to want to confirm or deny any of it, however. Though, Shinra did come across one video last night of a mental patient chained down to a chair in about 1992. Kitano-sensei held a needle in his hand as he walked over to the female patient. She couldn't have been no older than seventeen years and she sat as if in a daze with hard gag between her teeth. Her captor picked up her pale, skinny arm and stuck the needle in.

Shinra whipped around when he heard the door opening. He perked up when he saw Celty walking into the apartment. The doctor quickly closed down everything on his computer and raced over to his girlfriend with open arms.

"Celty!" he said. "I missed your so much!" The doctor laughed as he squeezed her waist. The dullahan struggled to get her cell phone.

"Calm down!" Celty typed at last. Shinra was too lost in his joy to even read the screen. She didn't need to know what he was looking up. It would be okay not to tell Celty about Chou Mori, yes?

-Yuka on Chirin-

We all adore Chirin. I adore him myself. In fact, he became my motive to perfect my skills as a doctor. I want to participate in Tadpole again. I studied like crazy for the entrance exam. Day and night with almost no breaks.

Funny thing, when it's not Chirin, I am as focused as a laser. I tune out everything around me. It's just me and patient or dummy that I am working on. Some of my other classmates laugh and joke around when we do our hands-on projects. Today was no different.

"Could you please keep it down?" I asked aloud to the three boys at the table behind me. "You are breaking my concentration." My voice must have had some sort of control because they went quiet really fast.

"What does it matter?" one of them asked. "They are just dummies." I turned around with a death glare in my eyes.

"You wouldn't be saying that if it was somebody's mother, child, or spouse on the table," I said. They stared at me, silent.

"You guys can play around if you want, but I am here to learn," I said. I turned back to my pretend patient.

"You are so cool!" Kaoru said with stars in her eyes.

"Shhh," I said.

"Oh, oh," she said in a whisper.

"Thank you," I said. It doesn't take me long to get back in my rhythm when I am working. I even challenge myself to do it better.

"I don't know how you keep such focus," Kaoru said at lunch. I tightened up my ponytail before digging into my ramen.

"I have a certain patient in mind," I said. She leaned in with a curious look on her face.

"Who?" my school friend asked. I leaned back in chair with my arms behind my head.

"Oh, just a former mental patient at Chou Mori," I said.

We all adore Chirin. We just adore him in different ways. That slut Yayoi wants to perform experiments and fuck him. I frowned as I remembered the day I caught her on top of Chirin in his bed. I used to not want to cross that line with him. But after seeing Chirin again, I am not so sure anymore.

Now, I do have healthy, normal sex life, thank you. Yes, I do have a boyfriend and we do live together. In fact, Koyuki is a little more kinkier than I am. Sometimes, he likes to tie me down to the bed when we do it. However, when it comes to exams, I will remain celibate until they are over.

"Baby, I'm horny," Koyuki complained on our bed when I was studying at my desk for exams last semester.

"Then go pleasure yourself or something," I said, not looking up from my books.

"Can't you do that for me?" His whimpering did little to sway me.

"Not if you want to fail my exams, baby."

"Aren't you the top of your classes already? What's one night off?"

"Hours I will not be able to get back if I fail. Now shut up and let me study. I promise I fuck will you until your heart's content when exams are over."

Koyuki whimpered as he lay back in our bed. "What am I supposed to do tonight?"

"Go a jack off. Just do it the bathroom. I just had those sheets washed this morning." I turned the page in my textbook as I heard him get up and walk out of the room. _Sorry dear, but you might have to suffer through more days like this when work picks up again._

I made it up to Koyuki-kun after my exams were over. I let him tie me up and act like I was a sex slave in a hot auction.

I have this reoccurring fantasy where Chirin is unconscious and sedated on an operating table. He is naked with the sheets covering the lower half of his body. His vitals are stable and I have all of the tools that I need to perform the experiment. I walk into the OR with my heart pounding. I have to take a minute to collect myself when I see him. When I pull myself together, I go over and pick up the best scalpel.

I plunge the blade into Chirin's chest with such precision. Once I open him up, there is his heart, red and still beating. Oh, it is so beautiful. Then, I pull out my syringe of choice filled with the new drug that Kitano-sensei and Asato-sensei have whipped up and plunge it into the exact vein of Chirin's heart that I am instructed to. His vitals speed up a little bit, but then they level off back to normal. When I am finished, I close up Chirin's chest and stitch him back up. I am not at the level of Kitano-sensei where his stitching doesn't leave any scars on the back yet, but I will get there through my hard work. I can't wait to see the results of the new drug I gave him.

That alone motives me to perfect my skills for that day to arrive.

-Kitano and Etsuko-

-Christmas Night-

Etsuko leaned against Kitano's desk.

"How long before they start to find each other?" she asked.

"Not long," the boss said. "Their awakening is happening now." Etsuko pulled out her phone and slid her finger across the screen. She pulled up the calendar app and did some math in her head.

"That would be accurate," Etsuko said.

"It's only a matter of time before they notice it themselves." His eyes trailed over to Etsuko as she put away her cell phone. "You do have the next round of drugs ready, yes?"

"Of course. Is your side ready?"

"The drugs are ready, I have my interns back together, and I added the new hire."

"We just need to wait for them to make the contacts and work from there, right?"

"That is correct." Kitano raised an eyebrow at the look of slight concern on his colleague's face. "Is something else on your mind?"

"What about Orihara?"

"Ah yes, him."

"How much of his memories does he have back?" Etsuko narrowed her eyes when Kitano shrugged his shoulders. "How much Mnemosyne did you give him this time?"

"I didn't measure it," her boss answered nonchalantly.

"You didn't measure it? Why?"

"That would be boring if we kept Izaya on too tight of a leash. I want to see what he's going to pull in this round."

"So you're on a first name basis with him?"

"Relax, I only told him enough to keep Izaya distracted long enough to have everything set in place. That's why I only told him who Chirin was after Ogawa-chan called me this morning after restoring some of his memories."

Etsuko's eyes widened. "How much did you give Chirin?"

"This much." Kitano took out the small red spray bottle and handed it to his colleague. She picked up the plastic bag that held it and looked at said empty bright red bottle laying on its side.

"Five milliliters," Etsuko said before looking up at Kitano. "We can't give him anymore for the next five days and you know why."

"I know, I know. I understand."

Etsuko breathed out before another thought crossed her mind. "But that still leaves Izaya. You don't think that he would-?"

"You know he will. He can't resist. Now that he knows who Chirin is, he's going to chase down any lead possible just to play his little mind games on him."

"It's almost like you're counting on him to do it."

"I would be lying if I said I wasn't." He turned off the classic music that he had playing in the background. "For now, we shall sit back and watch round two begin."

-Yuka on co-workers and Project Tadpole-

-January 10th-

I stood in one of the break rooms of Rampo Biotech. It feels weird to have all of the interns for Tadpole back together. Yayoi sat at the table texting another man boyfriend that she hooked up with last night. (Slut.) Roc stood on the other side of the room, brooding as he does. I could only guess what's got him in a bad mood today. And there is a new girl with us today. Her name is Rumi and she kind of reminds me of myself before I began working with Kitano-sensei. Speaking of which, he wants us to welcome her and get her use to how we do things around here.

I did a little homework on her this morning before I came to work. Rumi came from the countryside, but she is at the top of her class. She had just started med school just like I had. With that information off the top of my head, I began to devise a strategy. I can think Rumi under my wing and keep her away from that slut Yayoi. Maybe I can trust Roc around her. He can be jaded at times, but Yayoi is definitely worse.

It was then I noticed that slut eyeing me like I had stolen her boyfriend.

"What?" I asked. She narrowed her eyes at me.

"You got to see Chirin before I did," she complained.

"So?"

"I bet you got to suck him off."

I wrinkled my nose as I snorted. "Eww, no! He's just a patient! I'm not a pervert like you!"

"Oh right! So if you walked into a room and found Chirin tied down to a bed naked, you wouldn't try and jump him."

I froze as that image came into my head. I blushed as I looked down at my feet. "I don't know…"

"You don't know?"

I lifted my head, gritting my teeth. "I don't know."

That slut raised her eyebrow. "Don't tell that you're still a virgin."

"I am not and my sex life is none of your business, you whore!"

"Enough already!" Roc shouted. Yayoi and I turned our attention as he settled back into place. He glanced over towards the table. I noticed Rumi covering her ears with a bright red face. It didn't take me long to figure out why he would even care about what we were fighting about. Come to think of, Rumi hasn't met Chirin yet. I don't think she knows what she's signed up for either. She seems to believe that this is just typical research internship program. I rubbed my forehead as I smiled awkwardly as I saw where this could be headed. Oh, that's going to be rather interesting…

"Am I interrupting anything?" we heard someone ask. Low and behold, Kitano-sensei stood in the doorway carrying a box. It took my all not to jump up and down, squealing. Instead, I cleared my throat.

"Good morning," I said in a calmer tone.

"We are having a branch meeting right now," Kitano-sensei said. We all followed him out of the break like little school children coming back to the classroom after recess.

-Aoba-

-December 26th-

Last night, Aoba received an e-mail from an address that he wasn't familiar with. The subject was even more baffling.

"Cut, Cut, Cut?" he asked. Against his better judgement, Aoba opened the e-mail. The body of the message only contained a link to a video. He pressed on the blue text and a site like YouTube popped up on his screen. In the video appeared Gin sitting on the of his bedroom in a daze. He pulled out a knife and slit his right arm from wrist to fold of his elbow. He repeated the process with his left arm collapsed on the floor. The video looped for a second time. The more Aoba watched it, the more confused he became.

_What the hell is this?_

He wanted to believe that this was some twisted prank being played, but something didn't feel right about this video. The next day on his way to school, he dialed up Gin's number, but his phone went straight to voicemail.

"Hey Gin," Aoba said. "I got this weird video last night. There was some guy who looked like you cutting his arms. Call me as so-…" He froze when he walked up to an apartment complex with a cop car and an ambulance parked outside. Curious, the boy walked over for a better look. His cell phone hit the ground as his face grew pale. The sheet of the body had slipped, revealing Gin's face before the medics re-covered him and loaded him into the ambulance.

-Yuka-

I smile to myself during this morning's meeting. Oh Chirin, you are lucky that I have afternoon classes today. We're going to have loads of fun when you have your awakening.


	4. Mnemosyne

Halo Three: Mnemosyne:

One tiny purple cone.

One tiny purple cone has the power to restore lost memories. It started life as the thesis project for Asato Etsuko while she attended Nara Women's University. She had a fascination with the human brain and memory since freshman year. The version she submitted for her thesis was cruder than the version the Tandeki Group used today.

Etsuko sat in one of her main development labs in Rampo Biotech as she created a fresh new batch of Mnemosyne. The last one she created was used on December twentieth at Russia Sushi. The targets, Mikado and his friends, still felt the effects after the first dose for about four to five days. Small triggers set off fragments of their lost memories throughout the hours of a small come down. And what overpowering memories they each experienced.

-Anri-

December 21st.

Erika and her cosplay group had managed to "kidnap" Anri and take her out to a maid café for a little dinner. The busty girl with glasses felt out of place among these women in their costumes. Last night's memories still had her in an uneasy place. When she gone home after that silent dinner, Anri began to remember Mikado crying on her chest. He would hold onto her like a scared child with a teddy bear. She didn't push him off. Anri would only run her fingers through his hair.

He wasn't the only one suffering either.

Anri's looked out at girls at her table. They were lost in their chatter and laughing over Christmas-themed drinks and cakes. Saika's mother moved her hand to chest as another wave of dread filled her. The same feeling followed as she looked out at the patrons being entertained by the maids dressed in red and green maid costumes. From what she could remember, only she and her friends knew of the storm under the false calm.

It didn't help that Saika was talking about things that she couldn't remember yet. But for some reason, her words weren't coming out so clearly like they normally were. However, she repeated one word as if wishing it to be so.

"Baby!"

"Look, Anri-chan!" Erika said back in present day. "Anri looked up and saw one of the maids bring out a giant cake with sparkling candles over to a middle-aged male patron. Her co-workers gathered around the man and began singing happy birthday to him. Most of the other patrons began singing as well. However, Anri looked at the candles on the red and green cake and a lost memory resurfaced.

This had to be later in summer at least. Anri and Masaomi stood near Ikebukuro West Gate Park Fountain watching little kids running around and playing with sparkling firework sticks. Masaomi clenched his fists at his sides as he lowered his head.

"I've killed someone," he confessed. Anri looked at him wide-eyed, but had to force herself to stay calm for his sake.

"Who?" she asked. Masaomi trembled as he spoke. She couldn't hear his answer because the effects of Mnemosyne had started to wear off again. By Christmas, the drug would've worn off. What else would she remember by that time?

"Anri, are you feeling okay?" Erika asked. Anri shook her head.

"No!" she said. "Uh… I have to go!" The younger girl got up out of her seat and ran out of the café before the otaku had a chance to ask questions. Masaomi killed somebody? Who was dead by his hands? Why would he do such a thing? By now, Anri had come to accept that some of these memories could be real. But she didn't have enough pieces to the puzzle to figure it all out.

* * *

One batch of those tiny purple cones take close to a month to create. Each piece has to be calculated just right or it could potentially cause brain damage. Sometimes, Etsuko has to take breaks for the chemicals to take and cling together. One bad batch ends up being scrapped and she has to start over. To prevent that from happening, the doctor locks herself in the lab and drives right into work. When she wasn't in the lab, she would lock the doors behind her and turn off the lights.

Only she had the keycard to access that lab and she took it with her wherever she went.

-Chiharu-

December 21st.

Chiharu looked online through the various hospitals in Yokohama. She couldn't get that particular bench out of her head. Mnemosyne made her see the woman sitting on it much clearer. _Why am I seeing mom on that bench?_ She was about to do another search when she heard the front door opening.

"I'm home," Tatsuya said. His sister turned around when he walked into the living room. Her eyes looked like they could burn a hole into his soul.

"What?" he asked.

"Why was mom crying in front of a hospital in Yokohama?" Chiharu asked. Tatsuya gave her a strange look.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"I already know. There was supposed to be another child before me, wasn't there?" She stared at him, waiting for him to bullshit his way out of her questions. Instead, Tatsuya dropped his shoulders.

"Yes," he said. "But she had a miscarriage before you were born."

"So that's why she was holding her stomach that day," Chiharu muttered to herself.

"What did you say?" Tatsuya asked. His sister shook her head.

"What's with you asking questions about mom?" he asked. "Why are you so interested in this dead sibling of ours?" Chiharu was about to answer when she noticed that she had new message in her inbox. _What is this?_

She clicked on the message entitled, "Play me!"

"Why are you so interested in mom and that dead kid?" Tatsuya asked again.

"Just asking," Chiharu said as she clicked on the link in the message body. Automatically, a song that meshed a dubstep beat with a beautiful violin filled the room through the speakers of her laptop.

"What is that?" Tatsuya asked. But Chiharu didn't hear him for her mind disappeared into another lost memory uncovered by those little purple cones.

The dying blubs in the overhead lamps were barely enough to light the dim room made of steel. She could only see out through the bars of a cage as a lady sat at her desk doing paperwork to the sound of classical violin music. She and this woman weren't alone, however.

There were several other… beasts in cages like she was. They howled and scratched and ground of the cages as if they were in pain. The woman hummed to herself happily as she tuned them out and turned the page. She in the cage was different from them. She didn't act like an animal and she wasn't trying to escape. In fact, she slowly became aware of her surroundings. Something inside of her said that she didn't want to be in this place.

That's when she noticed the woman with short brownish-black hair eyeing her.

"I suppose it's time to feed you again," she said. The woman got up and walked out of the dimly-lit room. When she returned, she carried a huge metal bucket by her side. She in the cage felt her stomach turn for she what was on the menu tonight. Her body leapt forward in a hungry frenzy as the flesh, blood, and organs were dumped into the cage.

Chiharu's eyes widened as she panted back in present day. She rose to her feet as if in a trance.

"Chiharu?" Tatsuya asked. All he got for a response was the front door, slamming shut.

* * *

Mnemosyne has to be inhaled to work. The little cones can be burned like incense or grinded down into an odorless mist to be sprayed out of a bottle. The drug has no scent, but it's just as powerful as a hallucinogen. One smell is all it takes for the chemicals to get into the brain and uncover lost or repressed memories in the brain.

-Noriko-

December 23rd.

Noriko and Chiharu went out to do some last minute Christmas shopping. Both girls were silent for most of the walk to the different stores around the city. Noriko looked down at her feet.

"Have you felt it too?" she asked. Chiharu didn't even look back at her. Noriko looked at her hands. For the past three days, different images filled her head. She remembered holding a little baby boy while she was in a hospital. That child didn't live to see his first birthday. Seeing that tiny lifeless body in her hands made her eyes well up.

"Are you alright?" Chiharu asked. Her childhood friend quickly wiped away her tears and lifted her head.

"I'm fine," she said with a trembling voice. They first came up to an electronic store. As Chiharu and Noriko walked up to the first doors when an older girl dressed in a cute Santa outfit handed out bright pink flyers.

"Good afternoon!" she greeted them. "Come by our karaoke party tonight!"

"No thank you," Chiharu said as she started to walk away. She pulled on Noriko's arm's. "Come on, we have to get going." However, her friend happened to take a sniff of the Santa girl's blue jasmine perfume and the remaining efforts of Mnemosyne woke up more memories in her head.

A woman with messy hair sat on a bed staring at the blank wall in her room at Chou Mori. She felt nothing inside of her. Her husband had dropped her off her three months ago. Nothing seemed to reach her at first. By the end of February, she started to respond to her therapist as if in a daze.

The woman didn't move when she heard the door opening.

"Good morning," her psychiatrist said. "How are you doing today, Mrs.?" He ignored her mumbling as he approached her bed. He set down a newspaper clipping in her lap.

"Take a look at this," the older man said. The woman looked down at headline staring back at her. A mother had strangled her three kids in their sleep before slitting her own throat. The therapist smirked as his patient read the gruesome story.

"See?" he asked. "Why didn't your God rush in and save those children? How can you still say there is still a god after this?"

"They are all in a better place," the woman mumbled.

"Excuse me?"

His patient lifted her head, looking at him with tired eyes. "He probably saved them all from a miserable life. Those children would probably forgive their mother in Heaven."

"But they didn't have to die. They had their whole lives ahead of them."

"Maybe it was their time to go."

"Just like with your son?" He watched as she drew her knees to her chest. The woman still wouldn't give up her God after twenty-eight tragic stories that he would show her out of the papers. His only saving grace as this blue jasmine incense that he kept lighting in her room to calm her down during the nights.

Back in present day, Chiharu smacked Noriko in the arm. Her friend looked up at her trembling.

"Is she okay?" the Santa girl whispered.

"No," Chiharu said. She grabbed Noriko by the arm and dragged her into the store.

* * *

Last year, Etsuko got to see her beloved drug in action in the human brain. One of Otomo Aya's patients was put under a machine for an ET scan. The older doctor looked calm on the outside, but she felt the excitement well up inside of her as she watched all of the warm colors on the screen light up and flash. It was like watching many little puzzle pieces coming together before her. During her final year of college, Etsuko never thought that the fruits of her thesis would grow to this scale.

Still, many questions remain about those tiny purple cones.

-Masaomi-

December 24th.

Masaomi looked at his phone. Saki wasn't picking up again. Calming himself and saying that it was all in his head wasn't working anymore. The best thing to do was to attempt to keep his girlfriend dying.

Problem was, he didn't know how she would die and when.

The memories of her death felt like a weight on his chest. Masaomi closed his eyes and tried to think about something else. He happened to look across the room and notice a bag of chocolate sitting on the floor. Saki must have left it there the other than when she came by to visit. _I probably should go take it to her_ , the boy thought. Masaomi got off of his bed and walked over to the doorway. However, when he picked up the bag, two memories came attached to it thanks to those little purple cones.

Three days before her death, Saki turned to Masaomi in bed.

"Masaomi-kun, what would you do if I died the next day?" she asked. He gave her a puzzled look.

"What kind of question is that?" Masaomi asked.

"What would you do?"

He shrugged his bare shoulders. "I don't know." The leader of the Yellow Scarves couldn't help but notice the disappointed look on Saki's face. "What?"

She put her arm over his bare chest. "Please be serious about this."

"I am serious."

"So you wouldn't find another girl to fall in love with?"

"No, I would never do that." His response merited a smack in the chest from his frowning girlfriend. "Ow!"

"No, you have to promise me that you will find another girl after I die."

"What brought this on, Saki-chan?"

"Please!"

Masaomi sighed and closed his eyes. "Fine, I promise I will. I don't really see the point though. Why are you so convinced that you're going to die soon?"

Saki shook her head. "No reason." She closed her eyes and went to sleep.

Five days after Saki's death, Mikado helped Masaomi clean out her things from the apartment. The blonde-haired boy didn't appear to be holding up too well. Mikado rubbed him on the back.

"It's going to be okay," he whispered. Masaomi walked over to the kitchen as if in a daze.

"Masaomi-kun?" his friend asked. Masaomi opened the fridge and looked inside. His heart sank when he something caught his attention. In the corner in the very back was a box wrapped up in bright red and pink tissue paper held together with a white ribbon. A tag with little red hearts on it read, "To Masaomi-kun, from Saki." The distort boy pulled out the box and opened it. It only stuck worse when he realized that it was Honmei choco. Masaomi sank to his knees.

"This was supposed to be a present to me," he mumbled as tears welled up in his eyes.

"Masaomi… -kun?" Mikado asked when he came to his friend's side. The blonde-haired boy looked up with tears in his eyes.

"She was going to give it to me the day she…" he said. Mikado pulled his friend into his arms and held him.

Back in present day, his phone buzzed. Masaomi rushed over and grabbed his phone. Saki had just texted him back. He collapsed back onto his bed with temporary relief, but he knew it would be short-lived again.

* * *

Can Mnemosyne create false memories? What exactly causes it to make memories occur in the brain? What happens when too much is taken? What exactly is in Mnemosyne? Why hasn't Etsuko gone ahead and massive produced her pride and joy of a thesis? She will answer some of those questions, but not all of them. No one else but her knows how to make those tiny purple cones. When she dies, those secrets will die with her.

-Mikado-

Mikado has it the worst out of all of them because he got an extra dose on Christmas. He could already see the memories of being imprisoned in Chou Mori. Before, little pieces about that institution flashed in his brain besides the various injections into his body.

A faded and torn banner of the entrance of what appeared to be a tunnel that read, "Welcome to Hell."

Kitano-sensei sitting on his bed, talking to him about philosophy.

The orderly with the crimson nails tried to push her hand down his pants.

The faces of the other patients in Chou Mori.

The constant smell of bleach that made him want to throw. (Junko decided to be twisted at school two days prior to Yuka's visit, by "accidentally" kicking over a bucket of bleach as his class were cleaning up their classroom.)

Yuka's little visit only made things worse. Ever since that second dose of Mnemosyne and learning the truth, the flashbacks got to work breaking what little sanity was remaining. At the impromptu Christmas party, Mikado looked really out of it. He stared at his plate with a daze look in his eyes. He could barely hear the voices of his friends around him.

"Mikado," Masaomi said. "Mikado! Mikado!" The dark-haired boy jerked his head upwards and saw all eyes on him.

"You feeling okay?" Saki asked. Mikado slowly shook his head.

"No," he said. The boy got up and locked himself in the bathroom.

"Don't worry, he's just a little sick," Masaomi was quick to lie to the girls.

Cold water from the faucet ran at full blast as Mikado splashed it on his face. He took in deep breaths as he looked in the mirror. Masaomi threw him this little party in an attempt to calm him down, but it wasn't working. In fact, it only seemed to make things worse for him. Mikado closed his panicked eyes. The draining water brought him into another memory that he couldn't escape from.

The orderly with the deep crimson nails rug out a cold wet cloth she pulled out from the sink and began washing Chirin's body. The room looked like it was in some sort of a tunnel with barely any light in it. He was laying on his back and couldn't move. The orderly's devilish hands seemed to linger on his nether regions a little too fondly. She was probably listing all of the naughty things she wanted to do to him. Her tone made him cringe even now. There was some sort of writing above him on the wall. It didn't look like Kanji, Romanji maybe. He could only see the bottoms of the words.

Chirin and the orderly weren't the only one in there, though. He could hear the moans and wails of the other patients, but he couldn't see who all was there.

Strangely enough, that room was the only place that didn't smell like bleach. Instead, he remembered it smelling like blood, vomit, feces, and urine. Mikado rushed over to the toilet and dry heaved as the memories hit him once again.

"Mikado?" Masaomi asked as he knocked on the bathroom door. "Are you okay in there?"

"No!" his friend croaked. "Just leave me alone okay!"

Outside, Masaomi didn't leave him alone and instead sat outside of the bathroom door and waited. He waved off the concerned looks of Anri, Saki, Chiharu, and Noriko staring at him. The blond-haired boy looked over at the door behind him. _Come on, man, you have to get through this. You can let it wear you down like this. I will be damned if you break down on my watch!_ He pulled his knees to his chest and grabbed them with a tight grip.

Masaomi still wouldn't leave his room and even slept in the same futon with him after the girls went home.

* * *

Etsuko smiled in her lab as she finished up the first step in the new batch of those tiny purple cones. Who was going to be her new target with her beloved drug that she created from her thesis project back in college? Oh, she and the rest of the inner circle had a small list in mind…


	5. Nanami

Halo Four: Nanami:

Arisu pulled out her pink and white iPhone as she stood in the alley behind Red Rabbit and dialed the last number she would make for a while. For about a year, she had been so careful with her investigation. Tonight, she had just about reached the end that blow everything wide open.

"Hey, Nanami-san," she said. "I just about have all the evidence that we need. I just have to get it to the police." Arisu paused and shifted her eyes back and forth. "Don't worry, I will be careful. I promise."

The undercover waitress paused when she felt bright headlights on her back. She only glanced behind her for one second before she figured it out.

"Uh... I'm going to call you right back."

Arisu hung up and turned around. The waitress lowered her phone.

-Nanami-

That was the last time I heard from Arisu. I feared that they might have done something to her. I waited until morning by my phone, but she never called back. She was the only person I could talk about the mess that I am in now.

I met Arisu on a Sunday back in July. I had just gotten up when my doorbell buzzed.

"Just a minute!" I said. I couldn't figure out who was coming to see me that day. When I looked out the peep hole, I became even more confused. A young woman with long dark hair stood outside looking in.

"Hello?" she asked. I blinked as I opened the door.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

"Are you Yamazaki Nanami?" she asked.

"Yes… may I ask who you are?"

This young lady shuffled her feet as she quickly looked around. "May I come in?" Something about her whispering told me that she was about to deliver some bad news.

"Sure," I said.

"Thank you, Nanami-san," she said, bowing. I sat in my kitchen in shock when she told me everything. The pictures that she showed me on her phone made it even worse.

"W-What?" I asked when I could speak again.

"I am so sorry," this young woman named Honda Arisu told me. I dropped my cup of tea all over my table before running to the toilet.

"Nanami-san?" Arisu asked as I started throwing up. That began to explain all the creepy visions that I had been having since May. So, I really was…

I sank down on the bathroom floor, trembling.

"Nanami-san?" Arisu asked as she knocked on the door. "I know this is much for you. I am here to stop it. So far, I have managed to track you down. I am still trying to find the other women that Red Rabbit has been drugging up night after night. I have been gathering up evidence against the club ever since I started working there last year. If I can find more victims, I know can help all of you!" I opened the bathroom door with a tired look in my eyes.

"You want to help me?" I asked.

"Yes," she said. I collapsed at her feet, sobbing. Arisu knelt down and rubbed my back.

"How could this have happened to me?" I whimpered. "I've only slept with my fiancé. I don't even drink or party." I lifted my head. "My fiancé could dump me if he found out. My family would disown me and my friends would desert me. I could use my job if this got out!"

"I won't let it," she said. Her face came within inches of mine. "You are the victim here. You didn't ask to drugged and sexually assaulted night after night. When I have enough evidence, I will take it to the police and everyone will see that you and the other women are victims too." I began to speak when Arisu put her finger to my lips.

"You won't have to say anything to your fiancé until you are ready to," she said in a low voice. I rested my head on her lap.

Arisu stayed with me for the rest of the day. She and I pretty much became friends as the weeks wore on. We talked on the phone almost every night. I don't know how I would've managed if it wasn't for her. Arisu would keep me up to date on what she was doing.

"We'll get through this," she said every day.

"What happens after all of this is over?" I asked her in the park days before she went missing. Arisu took me by the hands.

"We will work that out when we come to that point," she said. When she said that, I trusted her.

* * *

Today, I sat in Keiichi-kun's apartment. He has to pick up where Arisu left off. Keiichi pushed up his glasses. I held out my bandaged wrists.

"If you don't do this," I said. "How can you be sure that I won't try to take mine own life again? What if another woman has found and decided to kill herself? What about her?" I had my attention on the young-looking girl dressed in a school uniform sitting next to Keiichi when I said "her". I remembered seeing her walking up to a room as I was being taken to another one. It was a safe bet to say that she was in the same boat as I was.

I clenched my fists. Part of me wished that Keiichi-kun and the Headless Rider had just left me to die on my kitchen floor. Maybe then I wouldn't have to suffer more sickening memories. I looked Keiichi-kun in the eyes.

"Please," I said, slamming my hands down on the coffee table. "I don't know how much more I can take of this! If I have to see myself doing something so depraved against my will, I don't know what I will do. Can't you help me?" Keiichi-kun closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead.

"Alright," he said. "I will see what I can do." I had some many reactions running around in my head to show my gratitude, but I just couldn't show them. I sat there, lowering my head. The difference between him and Arisu is almost glaring. She was eager to help me and tried to connect and comfort me.

"I'm sorry if I sound like a burden to you," I said.

"No, no!" Keiichi-kun was quick to say. "I just want to find Arisu-sempai. I need to bring her home to Sora-kun." I resisted saying anything. If what Arisu said was true about the people who run Red Rabbit, chances are he's never even going to find her body. I bit down on my fingers.

I just hope for his sake that I am wrong.

-Aoba-

-January-

By New Year's Day, Aoba received another e-mail from the same person that sent him Gin's suicide video. The subject title left him just as confused as the last one.

"Bleach, Yummy!" Aoba read to himself as he got out of bed. Just like the last message on Christmas, the body contained only a link. Aoba's gut had a guess as to where this was heading. That didn't stop his finger from hitting the link. Again, he came to that web site similar to YouTube.

This time, the video starred Yoshikiri. Like Gin in the previous video, he too had a dazed look on his face. He held about a gallon bottle of bleach in his hand, the label visible to the camera. As Aoba watched, he shook his head.

"Don't do it, Yoshikiri," he muttered. But, the boy in the video opened the bottle and put it to his lips. Each gulp was hard to sit through. Foam started to come up from the boy's throat as he kept drinking it. The gagging noise Yoshikiri made almost made Aoba want to vomit. It seemed that this video would go on for hours.

At last, Yoshikiri dropped the empty bottle of bleach and collapsed on the floor with foam around his mouth. The video started and began to loop back to the beginning. Aoba dropped his phone and raced out of his room.

Just as he expected, the paramedics were carrying out Yoshikiri's body under a sheet to the silent ambulance parked outside. Aoba walked up to a police officer.

"Excuse me," he said. "What happened to my friend in there?" The police officer pushed up his hat.

"Your friend decided to drink a whole gallon of bleach last night," he said.

"No way…" Aoba said in a low voice.

"His dad found him this morning," the cop added. "He had no idea why his son would take his own life." The founder of the Blue Squares cursed himself. First Hojo gets eaten alive by some psychotic cannibalistic killer. Then Gin takes a knife down his arms. Now, Yoshikiri decided to down a gallon of bleach. None of this made any sense. Who was out to kill the Blue Squares? He doubted that the Yellow Scarves would pull off something this sick.

However, Aoba had yet to look on the internet at the rumor mill up and running.

-Izaya-

Izaya stood waiting in the lobby of Rampo Biotech. His usual methods of gathering information wouldn't work out this time. The inner circle was on to him. So, he to rely on a more low tech source. Lucky for the information broker, he had the perfect way in.

About ten o'clock, Otomo Mari, came out into the lobby, heading home. She carried her bag at her side with her scarf around her neck. The woman about the informant's age kept her eyes to her feet. Izaya smirked to himself as she walked by.

"Oh Mari-chan!" he called. Mari jumped as she gasped and turned around. Izaya stepped out from the shadows, smiling.

"Aw, don't be like that, Mari-chan," he said. "I won't bite." She stared at him, wide-eyed. The serpent had made contact with the woman. Izaya stepped forward.

"Where are you going tonight?" he asked.

"Home," she answered in low voice. "What do you want from me, Orihara-san?" She might have looked startled, but her tone told him that she was expecting him to make contact with her. Her words almost sounded like they were rehearsed even.

"Aw, Mari-chan," the information broker said. "You don't have to be so formal with me. Call me Izaya. I-za-ya. Can you say that?" The serpent's gaze locked her made her feel so tiny. She pressed her lips together as if to refuse giving in.

They have done this before.

Mari lowered her eyes.

"I…za…ya…" she muttered. He patted her on the head.

"Good," he said. "Now, let's take a little walk, shall we?"

"Why?"

"We have so much to talk about…"


	6. Awakening

Halo Five: Awakening:

-January, Last Year-

"Can you see my light?" Kitano asked as he flashed a small flashlight into Mikado's left eye. The patient lay bound to his bed, unresponsive. Day three and his green eye wasn't responding to the little flashlight the therapist held up. Kitano slowly moved his light to the left before moving to the right. He turned off his flashlight when he got no responses. Still, the doctor wouldn't give up on his patient.

"You can do this," Kitano told him. Chirin couldn't understand the point of this exercise or what Kitano's intentions for him were. Why was he so interested in "fixing" him? Why did he have him here at Chou Mori?

Kitano sat down on the patient's bed.

"Do you know why you are here, Chirin-kun?" he asked. Mikado tried to focus his blinded eye on the doctor holding him captive. He braced himself for more useless philosophy that made no sense to him. Instead, Kitano patted him on the head and leaned in close to his ear.

"You and the other twenty-three Tadpoles are going to be part of something glorious," he whispered. "We need you alive to see everything in the end. You will be my witness." The therapist pulled away with a smirk on his face.

"So develop and grow, little Chirin-kun," he said. "I look forward to seeing how you will evolve." Mikado lay wide-eyed as he heard his captor walking out of the room.

"I will be back to test your eye again this evening," his therapist said before sliding the door closed. Kitano's tone alone was enough to make the patient freeze with panic. What did that even mean that he would be part of something glorious? What was a "tadpole" anyway? What were they doing to him with all of those injections and tests? The patient closed his eyes.

_I want to go home. Please… Somebody save me. I want to go home. There must be someone looking for me._

In Kitano's office, Etsuko offered her partner a radical suggestion to kick start the evolution of the Tadpole patients.

-January, Present Day-

January eleventh was when Mikado's awakening began.

7:00 a.m.

Mikado had his hand on the front door when a sharp pain erupted in his left eye. Cold and jarring like an icepick. Straight through to the pupil. Mikado sank to his knees, gasping. His vision blurred to grey. The room span.

_What's… happening… to me?_

The pain spread to his head as the boy staggered over to his bathroom.

Step. Step. Step. Step.

His fingers touched cold porcelain. One look into the mirror…

_No…_

His eye became green again. An inky black substance dripped out. Almost like his eye was bleeding. Mikado's body froze.

_It's back. No. No!_

He came to earth when his cell phone rang in his room. Mikado ran over and grabbed it off the bed.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Mikado? Where are you? We have been waiting outside for a while now," Masaomi said on the other line. "Are you okay?" Mikado's breathing become slower as he sat down on his futon.

"Masaomi?" he asked. "Oh, I'm okay. Just give me a second. Where are you guys?"

"We're outside your apartment," his friend answered.

"Huh?" The other boy hurried over to the window and looked out. Masaomi stood with the girls, flagging him down.

"Ah. Uh… I'll be down in a second."

"Are you sure you're okay, man?" Masaomi asked.

"Uh… yeah, yeah," Mikado lied. "I'm fine. You're slowing me down, in fact."

"Alright. Hurry up."

"Yeah, yeah." The founder of the Dollars hung up. Before heading out the door, Mikado walked back into the bathroom and looked into the mirror. Both of his eyes were bright blue and there was no inky black substance dripping out of either side. What was that a few seconds of ago? He wanted to believe that it was all in his head. But why wouldn't this foreboding feeling leave?

Mikado shook his head and left the bathroom.

10:00 a.m.

Kitano looked at the clock on his cell phone. He smirked as he looked at his calendar next. The psychiatrist went back to the home screen on his phone when he heard his office door open.

"Everything set today?" Kitano asked without turning around.

"Yes," Etsuko replied. "Has the awakening begun?"

"Oh yes." Kitano opened up a file on his tablet. One message later and the doctors sat back and watched scene one of their show unfold.

At Raira Academy, a new rumor had started to spread among the students. Like Aoba, they came across that YouTube like site named Deathvine. This site could only be access around midnight. When the homepage popped up, the visitor was greeted by a giant 3D laughing skull. That alone was just the appetizer. Dozens of gory and death videos were uploaded every night on this site. Though the web site couldn't be accessed during the day, the videos could be shared one time via e-mail. The latest video series spreading like wildfire?

There was a little rumor going around about a suicide pact among this gang called the Blue Squares. So far, everyone saw the videos of Gin and Yoshikri that they came across in their e-mails or chatrooms. It would be an understatement to say that they found the videos creepy. At first, they thought Gin's video was a sick hoax because most of the videos on Deathvine looked fake. That all went out the window when they saw it on the news.

Mikado would've looked into why his second gang was starting to die, but his own problems only started to begin today.

It started with the whispering.

And the shadows.

Mikado noticed a wispy grey cloud floating around Noriko's shoulders. He narrowed his eyes as it chanted one thing over and over.

"Murderer!"

"Murderer!"

"Murderer!"

"Murderer!"

_What is that?_ Mikado walked forward as if he heard a siren song with his hand reaching out for the cloud around Noriko's shoulders. She turned around when his fingertips touched her shoulder.

"Mikado?" Noriko whispered. The boy stood froze as he struggled to think of something to say.

"Uh… you have something on your back," he said. She reached up and brushed it off.

"Did I get it?" Noriko asked.

"I think so…" He noticed that the wispy little shadow on his friend's shoulders had vanished as she turned back to her notes.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

While taking notes, the founder of the Dollars saw himself in a darkened room back in Chou Mori. Chirin was strapped down to a cold metal chair. His eyes were held open by wires. The patient's eyes darted around the room as that damned clock ticked in the background. He looked at the door as it opened.

Heart pounding.

Kitano walked up to Chirin with a large syringe in his hand. The patient trembled as his captor moved closer.

Step. Step. Step. Step.

_No! Stay away! Please don't hurt me! Let me go! Let me go!_

Kitano rested his free hand on Mikado's shoulder. "Come on, Chirin-kun. Make this easier for yourself." The doctor lifted the boy's chin and focused on the guinea pig's left eye. Kitano drove the giant needle into a blood vessel.

Pupil dilates. Breathing increases. Tears filled up.

The last drop of the light pink fluid went in and Kitano withdrew the needle.

Chirin's vision in his left eye blurred.

Back in present day, another wave of pain struck Mikado in his left eye. His pencil hit his desk.

All eyes locked on him.

"Mikado-kun?" Anri asked. Her voice sounded so distant. Tiny dots filled the room. Chirin sank into a world of black.

"Ryugamine-kun!" the teacher shouted before it all went silent.

Noon

Hazy blue eyes opened to a white ceiling and blinking lights.

Junko sat at her desk filling out paperwork when she heard the sheets rustling. She poked her head through the curtains.

"Oh, good," the nurse with the Scottish accent said. "You're okay, Ryugamine-kun. Heard you had a nasty little fainting spell in class. You might want to rest here for a couple more hours." Mikado looked at her with big eyes.

"W-W-Where am I?" he asked.

"The infirmary, lad," Junko said. "A couple of your classmates brought you here after you passed out in class." Mikado tried to get up, but Junko pushed him back into the bed.

"Don't get up," she said. "I still need to run some tests."

"No, really, I'm fine," the former patient said. "I have to get back to class now." The nurse already whipped her little flashlight and shined it in his left eye. Mikado tried to shield himself from the small, brightness. Junko's own eyes lit up as she broke into a little smile.

"Oh!" she said. "Never expected a tadpole's development to look like this. This is exciting."

"Tadpole?" Chirin asked. Junko playfully covered her mouth.

"Oh dear, I spoke too soon," she said. Mikado tried to get up again, but the nurse pushed him back down.

"You're resting, remember, Chirin-kun?" she asked.

Mikado shook his head. "I'm not Chirin."

"But you are Chirin-kun."

"No…"

Junko began to giggle. "We have so much that we want to do with you."

"We?"

"Yes, all of you." The nurse leaned in close to her victim's ear. "Where you're going you're now coming back from." Mikado sat frozen as Junko wandered back to her desk.

She sent a quick text and resumed her paperwork.

2:45 p.m.

By now, the students were cleaning their classrooms. Mikado managed to slip away while Junko was on the phone. He couldn't ignore her words. Everything she let "slip" out removed all doubt that they were the ones who did something to his eye. Speaking of which, the dull pain would flare up in said eye at the slightest movement of his.

"Mikado-kun?" Anri asked. "What are you doing back? I thought you were resting in the infirmary."

"Huh?" the boy asked. "Oh, I feel better now." The male class rep picked up a cloth and started cleaning one of the desks. His crush knew that he was lying, but didn't know exactly how to address the problem. Instead, Saika's mother decided to stay by him and keep her eyes on the founder of the Dollars.

A little bit later, Junko walked down to Mikado, Noriko, and Anri's classroom. She looked around at all of the students either cleaning or goofing off. The nurse spotted Mikado struggling not to think about his time in Chou Mori or what was happening to him. She just couldn't urge playing around again. When she looked down and spotted a bucket of bleach near the door, it was all that she wrote.

_Oppsie!_ Her foot "accidentally" kicked over the red bucket of bleach and water.

"Oh no!" one student complained. By the time Anri looked up, it was too late. The overpowering scent made her fellow class rep freeze.

"Mikado-Kun?" she asked, shaking his arm. "Mikado-kun?" Her voice sounded so distant in his ears.

Mikado saw himself in another room, strapped down to a chair. This time, there was a female doctor with a chart in her hand. She read over his stats and began asking him questions. Her voice sounded underwater to him. Presumably, this doctor was about perform another test on him.

Only this time, she had no needle in her hand like all of the pervious times before.

Instead, the doctor began hooking up wires to the temples of his head. She pushed a rubber mouthpiece into Chirin's mouth. Her gracefully, cold hand flipped the switch of a black box machine.

In present day, Mikado raced out of the classroom. Junko smirked as Anri raced after him.

"Mikado-kun?" she asked. The busty girl trailed him all the way to the boys' bathroom. Masaomi poked his head out of his classroom when he saw his friends run by.

"What's going on?" he asked. The blonde-haired boy found Anri with her ear pressed up against the door.

"Mikado-kun?" she asked. Masaomi walked into the bathroom looking for his best friend. It didn't take him long to find him through the sound of vomiting in one of the stalls.

"You okay?" the Yellow Scarves' leader asked.

"No!" Mikado wailed before throwing up again.

Back in the hallway, Junko walked back to the infirmary, smirking.

5:17 p.m.

Back at Rampo Biotech, Izaya finally managed to find a copy of the patients involved in the Tadpole Project. Again, everything felt too easy for him. Almost as if Kitano and Etsuko wanted him to find this list lying around on the former's desk. The information broker didn't have time to think about that as he began to read down the list. Twenty-eight patients total. Some of them lived in Ikebukuro while the others were scattered throughout Japan. Izaya had a guess that Shinra and Nebula had already found the same letter and were looking for the tadpoles as well. What Nebula were planning to do with the test subjects, that didn't matter to him. Izaya was looking for one name in particular on this list.

He smirked when he spotted it at the very bottom.

"Just as I had guessed," he said. The information broker pulled out his phone and typed up a quick message. Only one way to find out if his guess and Kitano's hints were correct.

7:00 p.m.

By this point, Mikado just wanted to be alone. He had enough of flashbacks, pain, and dizzy spells. The boy pressed his hand to his forehead. Junko's words really drove the knife straight into him.

"Where you're going, you're not coming back from." What did that crazy nurse mean by that? What did she mean when she called him a "tadpole"? What was that nurse and that intern planning to do to him?

Mikado's thoughts were interrupted when his phone buzzed. The screen revealed a text from Izaya.

"Cover your right eye and look around," it said. At first, Mikado didn't know what this sentence meant. Against his better judgement, he put his hand over his right eye and looked out at the crowded street around him. All of the color drained from his face as he began shaking.

Every person had a ghoulish-looking creature perched on their back. Some of them looked small and black with open wings. Others were bright red with their mouths wide open. Their fangs seemed to cry for blood. Claws looked ready to stab the victims in the back. From these creatures' mouths and eyes slipped out whispers.

_Is he just trying to get in my pants?_

_I think I might be pregnant._

_Will I be able to pass my entrance exam?_

_I hope I don't get fired for sleeping with my boss._

_Will I be good enough for him?_

_Am I getting fat?_

_Is she cheating on me?_

_One kiss doesn't make me a lesbian, does it?_

Mikado staggered backwards with his hand still over his eye. _What is this?!_ His cell phone rang. The founder of the Dollars' eyes shifted back and forth before he reached into his pocket.

"H-H-Hello?" Mikado asked.

"Can you see them?" a familiar voice asked on the other line. The boy's eyes moved to his phone.

"Izaya… -san?" he asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh come on, Mikado-kun. Tell me, what do you see?"

The boy reluctantly covered his right eye and looked out at the crowded street. The sight of those monsters made him want to vomit. One of them on the shoulder of a girl his age seemed to turn its head and hiss at him.

"Don't look away," another voice said on the phone. A shiver traveled down the tadpole's spine.

"Who is this?" he asked.

"Aw, Chirin-kun, you know who this is," the voice said. "Try to remember who I am." Mikado closed his mouth and gulped.

"Kitano… -sen… sei?" he asked.

"Thank you," the doctor said. "What you are looking at the inner demons of your fellow man."

"Inner demons?"

"That's right. Your powers have finally finished manifesting. Congratulations on your awakening, Chirin-kun."

"My awakening? What are you talking about?"

"Isn't it glorious?" Izaya asked. "You can see every dark secret of all of those beautiful humans. You could exploit them and bend them to your will. Or you can be a savior to them. You have such a magnificent gift!"

Mikado nervously laughed on the other line. "Uh… well, can I give back?"

"Why would you? Embrace it! You have even more power now!"

"Oh and you'll want to develop your powers really soon," Kitano added. Mikado dropped his hand to his side.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because you have very special cells in your body," the therapist said. "If you don't put your powers to use, your body will rot from the inside out and you will die."

Mikado sank to his knees. "No way…"

"Good luck. I have faith in you, Chirin-kun. I look forward to seeing your full development."

Mikado's phone hit the pavement.


	7. Satoshi

Halo Six: Satoshi:

[A boy of seventeen lay on the ground bruised and beaten up.]

-Satoshi-

I live in hell.

My name is Aida Satoshi. I used to be a happy child. Okay, there was an incident that happened to me when I was really little. I think there was an accident involving my dad and uncle. Because of that, I used to get really bad headaches and not be able to walk straight. Mom always treated me like I was a fragile piece of art. Dad, on the other hand, tried to toughen me up.

"You aren't girl," he would tell me. "You aren't a weakling. I expect you to be strong like me." Mom always hated when he talked like that. In fact, she hadn't gotten over the incident in question. She wouldn't trust dad alone with me ever again.

[The boy stared up at the sky through the alley. His blood splattered the trampled on snow. His bruised ribs made it difficult for him to breathe. The boy laughed painfully to himself as he could see the look on Shiori's face if she saw him like this.]

I have a secret.

[The boy looked down at his chest. His shirt was ripped open, revealing torn bandages used to cover up breasts the size of a B-cup at most. Seeing those bruised and bloodied boobs made him grit his teeth sore.]

My body is of a girl's. Breasts on my chest. I have periods, but I don't bleed like a girl does. I wasn't born like this. I used to be a normal boy. I used to have a have male body. This is not my body anymore!

I ended up in Chou Mori last year.

-Chou Mori Institution, One Year Earlier-

Most of the former patients in the Tadpole Project don't remember anything about being trapped in that Hell Hole. But I do. I remember every injection, every test, every beating, every smell—everything! Mom dropped me off at Chou Mori as a way to "shield" me from Dad when things got uglier as she tried to justify it as. I remember that morning very well. The night before, she came into my room and collapsed onto my bed, crying.

"Mom?" I asked. She lifted her head with tears in her eyes.

"I am sorry, my baby boy," Mom whispered. "I have not been a good mother to you. If I had… If I had…" She cried on my lap. I didn't know what she was talking about. Mom probably blamed herself for the accident that left me with a serious head injury that I was still suffering from.

But then she pulled me into her arms as if to squeeze me to death.

"Don't worry, I'm going to make it all better," she whispered in my hair. Around three in the morning, she loaded me into the car and drove me to that god awful place. She just walked through the building, filled off the paperwork, kissed me goodbye, and left.

To this day, I wondered if she really just wanted to get rid me because she couldn't take the stress of dealing with my condition and the mistrust of Dad.

The moment Mom walked out of those doors was when my nightmare began.

You see, I was dropped off at Chou Mori on September thirtieth, four days before they started the third round of the Tadpole Project. Lucky me ended up being enrolled it by Kitano-sensei.

Ah yes, him. He said this was going to cure us, make us better. All that's done bring us hell.

-Ikebukuro, Present Day-

[The boy struggled to himself to his feet. The slightest movement made his body ache. His stomach grumbled once he leaned up against the cold brick wall. The boy stopped to catch his breath.]

I am a mess. It's gotten worse ever since Chou Mori was shut down in the spring. You would think after that hell was shut down things would get better. I had to struggle to live a normal life again.

-Chou Mori Institution, One Year Earlier-

[The boy lay in his bed, half-dazed. His wrists and ankles were tied down so tight that he could barely feel his hands and feet. Yayoi walked into his room with her chart in her hand.]

"Good morning, Satoshi-kun!" she chirped. "How are you this morning?" I glared at her, mumbling something along the lines, "I want to die." I resisted the urge to spit on that big-breasted whore as she giggled. She began by checking my stats on her chart, or at least pretending to, before looking around. I hated the way she looked at as her hand went down to my chest. I could already guess where this was headed. That hand with those crimson nails would go down my pants and she would try to fondle me while talking dirty. However, she leaned down to my ear.

"I want to try something different today," that orderly whispered. She lifted up my shirt. However, that bitch froze, covering her agape mouth.

"Sensei!" she screamed as she ran out of the room. I happened to glanced down when she screamed and began to see the reason why.

"What are you talking about now?" I heard Kitano-sensei ask as he walked into my room with that bitch orderly.

"There!" she shouted, pointing at my chest. That bastard walked over for a better look. When he came around for a better look at my body, he raised his eyebrow.

"I've never seen it do that before," he said. My eyes widened when he said those words. _Wait… what?!_

"Looks like we'll have to take him to exam room for a better look," Kitano-sensei said. They untied me and dragged me down the hall. The exam room was dimly lit and felt cold. I remember it being early March and it freezing that week. Kitano-sensei held out a small hand-held computer and ran a scan over my body before putting me into the bigger machine for second scan. Asato-sensei stared at the screen when I was pulled back out.

"He has Gynecomastia. The hormones have become unbalanced," she said.

"Have you seen anything like it?" Kitano-sensei asked.

"No."

"What do you think caused this?"

"I'm not really sure yet, but I would probably take a guess between the Oyamatsumi drug and the Raijin drug."

"It looks like we're going to have to scan all of the tadpoles now." He sighed as he sat back in his chair. "It's a good thing that we castrated him."

My stomach dropped. Not only did I have breasts and had my hormones out of whack, they had sterilized me too? I thought I would die.

Turns out, only I had more hormones changed. Everyone else passed for those bastards' idea of normal. Even they couldn't figure out what caused my body to change like this and worked to find answer out for themselves.

They still ran experiments on me. Only now, I was labeled of defective. Some of the others would stare at me and whisper about me. I bet they were laughing at me behind my back. I hated when they looked at me in pity. I didn't want their sympathy. It made me sick.

The "defective" tag also made me a walking target.

There was an orderly named Roc. He didn't seem to like any of us tadpoles. Sometimes, he would beat up the boys and men just for fun. Ever since everyone involved in Tadpole learned that I was defective, I turned into his favorite punching bag. He did a good job of hitting me in places where I could hide injuries with my clothes. I couldn't remember a time when I didn't have bruised ribs, broken bones, cuts, or bruises from his daily beatings. I couldn't understand why he singled me out.

"Why?" I asked him one day in the men's bathroom. Roc raised his eyebrow at me.

"Why?" he asked. "Why what?" I sat on the floor with tears in my eyes.

"Why… are… you… doing… this… to… me?" I said in between breathes.

He all but laughed at me. "Why am I doing this to you?"

I sniffled as I nodded. Roc gave me a kick to the stomach as a reply. He laughed as I doubled in pain. That monster leaned down to my face. His smirk still gives me nightmares.

"Because I hate you tadpole freaks," Roc said in a low voice. "And you are the worst." He kicked me about four more times bored he got bored. The beatings only got worse because I asked him why.

But one day, something changed.

I think this was about mid-March when this particular incident occurred. Some of us were in the activity room at the time. I sat in the corner, trying to stay quiet when Roc walked into the room. Just by the look in his eyes, I could tell that he was in a foul mood. He was out for blood and didn't care which patient he grabbed.

Unfortunately, he spotted me.

For some reason, I didn't move. It was as if I waited to be beaten to death. Roc walked over to me with a doubled pace. I closed my eyes and waited for the punches. First one landed in my ribs. The blow took out almost all of my breath, but I didn't scream. Part of me didn't care anymore. Roc kept hitting and kicking me in the stomach, head, and ribs. At this point, I didn't care if anyone would try to come and save me. The patients were too afraid of the orderlies and doctors in this hell. They beg for mercy and promise to be good when they are about to be beaten themselves. Most of the staff were overworked and stressed, that they couldn't be bothered. The people who ran Chou Mori either didn't care or didn't know the full extent of how bad things got. No matter what the reasoning was, I had counted on it being the end of me that morning.

That was when I heard screaming.

When I looked up, a boy with spikey black hair lay on the ground inches away from Roc. I remembered seeing that boy around here before. He had an eye patch over his right eye two months earlier. That boy lay on his side, panting. Roc sat up looking like a bull that had red paint spilled all over its face. It didn't take me long to figure out what happened.

_Why would he do that?_

"You!" Roc shouted at the boy lying on the ground. "I'm already having shitty morning and now I'm really mad!" He leapt to his feet and started beating on the boy worse than he was with me. I sat, looking so confused. Why would that boy try to save me? I didn't even know him too well. Still, he just ran over and tried to stop Roc from beating me to death. I shook my head, dazed.

The other patients were too afraid to help the boy getting beat up on the ground. I bit on my nails as I silently prayed that someone would come to his rescue.

"What's going on here?" we heard someone asked. I turned to see Asato-sensei standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips. I think that was the first time I was happy to see her. Part of me hoped that she would actually care enough to save that boy if not me. Roc let go of the boy and snorted.

"I was trying to teach him a lesson," he lied. Asato-sensei turned to me with a cold look in her eye.

"Is this true?" she asked. I almost jumped when she spoke to me. I trembled as I shook my head. Asato-sensei turned her attention back to Roc looked like he wanted to kill me now.

"Segawa, in my office! Now!" she commanded. I pretended not to see Roc when he mouthed, "I'm going to kill" at me. After that day, he pretty much left me alone.

-Ikebukuro, Present Day-

Looking back, it would've been better if that boy would've left me to be beaten to death.

[The boy dragged himself along the wall as he walked down the crowded street. The sun had started to set and most of the people were rushing home. He ignored the stares that he got as he walked by passersby. The boy gritted his teeth.]

After Chou Mori was shut down, I bounced around from shelter to shelter. I kept going to school. I thought that if I pretended that everything was normal, I would be okay. Unlike most of the other Tadpole patients, I still had my memories of the hell and torture in Chou Mori. I got angry when I saw news about the horror stories on the news. Where were they six months earlier? Also, why weren't they talking about the horrors of the Tadpole Project? Not a single news story talked about the real hell that twenty-seven others and I went through in those six months. What were they covering up there? Thinking about it pissed me off.

I didn't let anyone see me naked. It was horrifying to think about how my classmates would react if they saw my body. I couldn't afford to relive more beatings because of my breasts. Up until now, I had done a good job of hiding them under wraps and bandages.

Luckily, I had Shiori by my side. She and I had been friends since we were three years old. I saw her like an older sister with the way she always helped me keep my balance when I stood up too fast. Whenever I had a problem, I always ran to Shiori. She never asked for anything in return. To my surprise, Shiori was the only one to ask me where I had been when I was released from Chou Mori. As much I wanted to tell her everything, I could only tell her the lightest details of what I went through.

"Why would your mom drop you off at place like that?" she asked me on the swing set in the park. I lowered my head.

"I can't fully explain it either," I said. "Maybe she wanted to get rid of me after everything that had been going on." Shiori pulled me into her arms.

"Your mom wouldn't abandon you like that," she said. "She probably didn't know about Chou Mori's reputation as well. They probably did a good job of covering up the abuse." As much as it left a bitter taste in my mouth, Shiori was right. That bastard doctor must have had some way to lie and keep Project Tadpole a secret. But what could I do? Nobody would believe me on that part of the nightmare. How could I even tell all of Ikebukuro if I couldn't even tell my best friend? The best that I could do was pretend that I was getting better and that everything was going back to normal.

That plan fell through six days ago.

My awakening began when I first came to school. My head was aching so badly I thought that it would split open. I sank to my knees panting. However, I froze when I heard soft murmuring in my ears. My ears darted around for the source. Other students walked by me, talking. However, some of them weren't moving their lips at all. The whispering doubled in my ears as I tried to find the source.

_What is this? Where is all of this coming from?_

The pain in my head got worse I heard more whispering around me. _Make it stop! Please!_

"Satoshi-kun?" I heard someone ask as they touched me on the shoulder. I whirled around and saw Shiori looking at me with a worried look on her face. I stared at her with big eyes.

"Are you feeling okay?" Shiori asked. I quickly shook my head.

"I just had a slight headache," I lied. I pushed myself to my feet and walked into the school. I tried not to make eye contact or talk to Shiori until we made it inside.

For the next five days, it got worse. The voices I had been hearing got louder and louder until they were practically shouting at me. At first, I didn't know what to do. I hoped that I wasn't going crazy. Deep in my gut, I began to suspect that the experiments of Project Tadpole had caught up to me. I shuddered when that thought first crossed my mind.

I thought I had gotten away from those bastards.

-Five Days Ago-

3:00 a.m.

I reached around for my cell phone ringing on the floor. Something inside of me told me to let it ring.

"Hello?" I asked once I answered it.

"Good morning, Satoshi-kun."

That voice made me jolt upwards in my futon. "No…"

"Why yes, I see that you've had your awakening, Satoshi-kun."

All of the color drained from my face. "Awakening?"

"Why yes," that bastard told me. "Tell me, have you been hearing voices in your head lately?"

My eyes widened as I shook my head. "N-N-No!"

"It doesn't help to lie. I have been watching you for some time now."

"You've been spying on me?"

"I had to. Despite you being defective, you are still a test subject. Now, I am going to ask you again. Have you been hearing voices in your head lately? Don't bother lying this time."

My hands trembled as I lowered my eyes. "Yes."

"Good, good."

"But why?"

"Why what?"

"Why am I hearing them?"

"Oh, so you can hear thoughts?"

I jerked my head upwards. "I can hear thoughts now?"

"That's what my sources tell me."

I gritted my teeth as my panic turned into a slow anger. "What have you done to me? Why are you doing this to us?"

"For the what, you will see as you develop. As for why, I am not inclined to give that out yet. In any case, work on using your powers before your body rots from the inside and those cells kill you. Oh and it won't be long until you find the others as well. I wish you good luck, Satoshi-kun." Kitano-sensei hung up as I opened my mouth. I sat in the darkness in a wash of anger. My nightmare wasn't finished with me yet.

-Present Day-

[The boy stopped in front of a shop window. His battered image only made his anger heavier. Two girls walking by him, sped away when they noticed his appearance reflected from the glass.]

Ever since that phone call, I have tried to stay away from people. All of those thoughts, everyone's secrets. They keep pouring into my head and I can't turn them off. I had done my best to stay away from Shiori because of my new powers. I was too afraid to know what she really thought of me. Was she being my friend because of me or out of pity? She called me last night. I lied and said that I was asleep and that I would see her in the morning in a text. It already hurt to lie about where I was living now or my body. She probably couldn't handle everything that I had been through.

Some of my classmates think that I am weird. This didn't bother me before, but now that I can't pretend to be normal anymore, it's made it that much worse.

There is another reason for that.

In fact, it happened today at gym class. This has always been a difficult time for me before my breasts. I had always been so care not to change clothes in front of other boys. I had managed to find a small space for me to dress out. I would take my clothes off, tighten up my wrapping, and pull on my gym clothes. Nobody would notice a thing.

That all changed with one e-mail.

By the time we got to our afternoon classes, my phone started buzzed. I just had to open it up and check all of those messages.

Freak!

Fag!

Queer!

Nice tits!

Weirdo!

Creep!

Do you even have a dick?

When I scrolled down to the main message, my stomach dropped as my phone hit the floor. Someone had snapped a picture of me unwrapping the wrap around my chest and sent it around the school. My breasts were in full view in the clear shot. I felt like I wanted to die as all eyes stayed on me. Their thoughts might have been knives into my body. Three senior boys cornered me as I was trying to leave school. Judging by their thoughts, I could tell they wanted to add onto my misery. I tried not to make eye contact as I walked by them.

That's when the biggest one grabbed me by the shoulder and spun me around. Their faces looked like grinning Halloween masks. My legs felt like jelly as I began to have flashbacks about Roc about to beat me up. I shielded my arms over my head.

"Please! I don't want any trouble!" I wailed. Their laughter reminded me of Roc when he laughed at me for asking why he kept beating me up.

"Did you hear that?" one of the senior boys asked. "The little bitch doesn't want any trouble." He grabbed me by the hair.

"You look here," the senior boy with the piercing in his left ear told me. "We don't like your kind around here!"

"My kind?" I asked.

"Yeah!" his shorter friend said. "We don't like creepy perverts like you!"

"I'm not a pervert," I said. "It's not my fault my body turned out like this. I am not a molester."

"What was that?" Earring asked, gritting his teeth.

My stupid mouth had to go on and say, "I'm not like your uncle who touched you when you were younger. It wasn't your fault. You are just a child." His friends whispered between each other as Earring got angrier.

"How the fuck do you know that?!" he snapped. "What are you some sort of a stalker?!" Earring punched me in face. I hit the ground with a thud. I had been through this scenario before back in Chou Mori. I could already see what was coming next.

However, something inside of me wouldn't stay down. This time, I jumped to my feet and took off running. Probably wasn't the best move, but I was only thinking about getting away. That planned didn't work out as those boys gave way to chase. We ended up in an alley and Earring tackled me to the ground. He and his friends beat me until I lost consciousness.

The weirdest thing about this beating? I was actually… smiling. Their punches and kicks were nothing compared to Roc's abuse back in Chou Mori. I could feel his hate and rage towards me. These boys were uneasy and Earring was scared and repressing memories of his uncle. I didn't even try to fight back. Maybe deep down inside, I wanted them to try and finish me off. This would be the end and I wouldn't have to suffer anymore.

_Yes, do it! I can't take this life anymore! You will be doing me a favor. I will be free at last._

[The boy happened to reach into his coat and feel hard plastic. Curious, he reached into the pocket. To his surprise, he realized that he had pulled out knife.]

The shine of the blade drew my fingers towards the dull side. I didn't remember putting it into my jacket this morning. Wait a second…

I slid back the jacket and looked at the tag. As expected, the tag read "Kuno". I guess my jacket got mixed up from out of the other guys in the shelter. However, my attention returned to the knife in my hand. Looking at that blade made me think back to the hell that I had been dragged into from September. Kitano-sensei's words echoed in my head.

"In any case, work on using your powers before your body rots from the inside and those cells kill you. Oh and it won't be long until you find the others as well. I wish you good luck, Satoshi-kun."

Remembering all of that made me grit my teeth. Suddenly, I felt a tingling going up my spine. Another one like me was nearby. As if on instinct, I closed my eyes. I about jumped when I saw his face. I ripped opened my eyes as my heart jumped in my chest. Of course, they are starting up that stupid project with him as the centerpiece!

I knew what I had to do to get my life back.

Once I put away the knife and cleaned myself up the best that I could, I walked down the dimly-lit street.

* * *

Further into the crowd, Mikado froze when a tingling sensation ran down his spine.

"Masaomi, somebody's following us," he whispered.


	8. Eraser

Halo Seven: Eraser:

-Chou Mori, One Year Earlier-

The Tadpole branch argued about a rather curious subject with the test subjects.

Could tadpoles reproduce?

Half of them wanted to know, but the other half thought that it would be better if they were all castrated to maintain the DNA pool. Plus, they feared that it could draw too much attention to their project if a child was born with the genetics of a tadpole parents. This argument went on for three days before Kitano came up with a compromise to help get them back on track.

"Okay, we will sterilize half of them," he said. "The other half will be allowed to reproduce. Any objections?" No one said a word because who could argue with that logic. Etsuko would make the lists of which tadpoles would be castrated and Kitano would go over them before signing off on the lists.

Hours before the operation was to begin, the therapist read through the two lists side by side on his tablet and noticed Chirin's name was on the castration list. It was unclear of why the following happened or if would ever tell anyone why he did it, but Kitano to took his finger and switched Mikado/Chirin's name with Satoshi's on the "don't castrate" list before signing off on the lists. Etsuko approved the change on the lists and sterilization of fourteen tadpoles began.

-Ikebukuro, Present Day-

Further into the crowd, Mikado froze when a tingling sensation ran down his spine.

"Masaomi, somebody's following us," he whispered. The blonder-haired boy turned to him, puzzled.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Shhh!" Mikado said, looking around. "There is somebody following us."

"Come on, man, quit playing around."

"I'm not! There really is someone following us." The panicked look on Mikado's face told his friend that he wasn't joking.

"Okay, who is it?" Masaomi asked.

"Someone like me…" Mikado mumbled.

"What?"

"We can't stay here." Mikado grabbed his friend by the hand and took off running before he had the chance to ask. He tried to look for an escape route through the busy crowd. This presence following them picked up its speed. Mikado finally spotted an alley and turned the corner. The boys started running once they got halfway in. Mikado took a moment to catch his breath.

"What is going on here?" Masaomi asked. "Who's following us?" The other boy froze before he had a chance to speak. He slowly looked down further to the right.

_Wait! Don't tell me…?_

A boy in a messy uniform walked down the alley, looking at the seniors with a cold glare. Each step he took sounded like an executioner coming towards them. The boy's heavy breathing sounded more like an injured animal than an angry bull. Mikado stood up with big eyes. Masaomi gave the boy walking towards them rather confused.

"Do you know him, Mikado?" he asked. The tadpole shook his head. The third boy stopped in his tracks and laughed. His voice sounded choked with wheezing.

"Oh come on, Chirin," the boy said. "You know who I am."

"No, I don't," Mikado said, backing up and shaking his head.

"Don't lie to me. It insults my intelligence. Try to remember." The third boy frowned as he looked at the older tadpole's panicked expression. He couldn't hear any of Mikado's thoughts. Masaomi's thoughts came through just as clearly.

_Who is this kid? Does Mikado really know him? What does he want with him?_

The third boy gritted his teeth. "You really don't remember me, do you?"

"No," Mikado said. The third boy shook his head.

"You really don't remember me," he said. His hand reached for his jacket. "Looks like I'm going to have to make you remember." Mikado and Masaomi's faces filled with shock when they saw the boy's battered breasts.

"What the…?" the blonde-haired boy asked. "Are those… tits?" The younger boy's nostrils flared. Mikado's heart raced as more memories from Chou Mori came back.

-Chou Mori, One Year Earlier-

Mikado sat dazed in the activity room.

The effects of the last drug injected into him were starting to wear off. Everything sounded like it was underwater to his ears. Chirin breathed heavily. His eyes scanned the room.

Most of the other inmates were lost in their own world. One old man was watching re-runs form the series _Gatchman_ on the room's TV. These were the "normals" to the tadpoles and Kitano's people. They didn't have to suffer through numbers of cruel experiments. Nobody really laid a hand on them. Otherwise, this hell hole would be shut down in heartbeat. These people were the "lucky" ones.

Mikado slowly turned his head.

However, something pierced through his drugged-up haze.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

Roc stood over a boy a little bit younger than Mikado. That orderly had his fist raised in the air about to deliver another blow. His victim lay on the ground, taking it with big eyes. Mikado tilted his head. It felt like the scene was unfolding in slow motion. None of the other patients were either too afraid to help the boy getting beat up or were lost in their own world.

_This is bad. That kid's really getting beat up. Somebody should so something._

_Why don't you do it?_

_Huh? Me?_

_Yes. You said so yourself. Why not run over there and push that big ape off of that girly boy? Come on, what are you waiting for? Are you going to let him get beaten to death?_

Mikado stood up as if under a trance.

_Do it!_

With a scream of a wild animal, the tadpole patient raced over Roc and pushed him off of the injured boy. Both went crashing to the floor. All eyes rested on Mikado as he lay on his side, panting. It would've been useful if he had kept up that rush to fight back. Roc snorted and gritted his teeth.

"You!" he shouted at the boy lying on the ground. "I'm already having shitty morning and now I'm really mad!" The orderly leapt to his feet and started beating on Chirin worse than he was with the other boy. Everyone stared at the abuse, too scared to move again. They couldn't understand how or why this happened. Nobody had ever stood up to Roc before in their lives. Some hoped that this boy would be saved somehow.

"What's going on here?" they heard someone asked. The previous victim turned to see Etsuko standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips. Roc let go of Mikado and snorted.

"I was trying to teach him a lesson," he lied. Etsuko turned to the first victim with a cold look in her eye.

"Is this true?" she asked. The young boy almost jumped when she spoke to him. He trembled as he shook his head. Etsuko turned her attention back to Roc looked like he wanted to kill the first boy now.

"Segawa, in my office! Now!" she commanded. The younger boy pretended not to see Roc when he mouthed, "I'm going to kill" at him. When the doctor and the orderly were gone, the boy crawled over to Mikado lying beaten and bruised.

"Are you okay?" he asked. The older boy shook his head.

"Why would you do that?"

"I… don't… know…"

The younger boy looked down into his lap. "Thanks, I guess…" He sort of looked away. "What's your name?"

"Chi—Mikado."

"My name is Satoshi."

-Ikebukuro, Present Day-

Mikado stepped back, gasping. "Sato… shi…kun?" Masaomi looked at his friend.

"You know him?" the blonde-haired boy asked.

"Yes," the founder of the Dollars said, nodding. "He was in Chou Mori with me." The younger boy threw up his hands in the air.

"Now you remember me!" he shouted.

"But, what do you want with me?" Mikado asked. Satoshi took a step forward.

"What do you think I want?" he asked. "An explanation." The second tadpole glared at the older boys. "Why did you save me all those months ago?"

"I… I don't know!"

"You don't know? You don't know?!"

"I don't remember."

"You don't remember?! Which one is it?!"

Mikado put his hands on his head. "I don't know!"

"Hey, back off!" Masaomi shouted. Satoshi cut him a cold glare.

"This does not concern you!" he snapped. "You're just an ordinary human."

"What are you talking about?" the Yellow Scarves shogun asked. Satoshi smirked as it began to crumble inside his head.

"He didn't tell you?" he asked.

"Tell me what?" Masaomi asked. Satoshi turned his focus towards Mikado.

"Tell him, Chirin!" he shouted. "Tell him everything that they did to us in Chou Mori! Tell him all of the torture they put us through their sick experiments! All of those injections! We were nothing but guinea pigs to them in that place!" Satoshi pointed to his breasts.

"Look at what they did to me! The drugs fucked up my hormones and now I have tits like a girl! I was labeled as defective! Me, defective." Satoshi tried to hold back his laughter.

"I am defective! They labeled me defective!" He shook his head, smiling.

"Look, why don't you just go home or something?" Masaomi asked. "You are creeping us out." The younger tadpole covered his mouth, laughing.

"Home?" he asked. "Where the hell is that? My parents split up and sold the apartment while I was in Chou Mori. My mom didn't even leave a return address. She abandoned me, man!"

"How is all of this my fault?" Mikado asked.

"You should've just let me die!" Satoshi barked. "I would've been happy to let Roc finish me off. Because then I wouldn't have to hear everyone's thoughts all of the time!"

"Wait, you can hear thoughts?"

"Yes! I hate it! All of those thoughts! I didn't want to know what everyone thought about me after they saw my body! You don't even understand the hell that I have been through!"

"I want to understand."

Satoshi snorted. "Why? You have friends and people who care about you. I had push away my only friend because I wasn't sure if she was friends with me because of me or if she felt sorry for me."

"You don't have to time this, let's go," Masaomi cut in. Satoshi's nostrils flared.

"Yeah, run to your girlfriend!" he shouted at the blonde-haired boy. "She's going to die soon anyway."

Masaomi froze with a blank stare. "How do you know about Saki-chan?"

"I can hear thoughts, remember?" Satoshi said. He looked back over at Mikado. "I'm surprised that you haven't heard for yourself."

"What?" the other tadpole asked.

"Come on, must have had your powers come in already at this point too."

Masaomi looked at his best friend. "What's he talking about?"

Mikado moved his hand to his left eye. "I- I don't know what he's talking about." He could feel his eye throbbing as the faint smell of bleach returned. Satoshi clenched his teeth.

"You're lying," he growled. "Why won't you acknowledge what they did to us?!"

"Maybe he doesn't want to remember everything that happened to him in Chou Mori," Masaomi said.

"Oh, bull shit!" Satoshi yelled. "They won't let us tadpoles be dumb and innocent anymore. They want to drag us back into our experiments."

"But what do you want from me?" Mikado asked. The delicate threads in Satoshi's mind began to snap one by one.

"What else?" he asked. "I want my life back!" The younger tadpole sighed and shook his head. "You leave me no choice but to do this." Satoshi reached into his torn up jacket and whipped out his knife.

* * *

From high up in an abandoned apartment, Izaya watched the scene unfold through his binoculars. His eyes stared at the shiny knife blade.

"Okay, Chirin-kun," the information broker muttered. "Let's see what you are going to do next." Izaya swallowed back his drool as he watched the next scene unfold.

* * *

"What are you doing?!" Mikado asked as he stared down the blade. Satoshi only saw red as he stepped closer.

"If I kill you, the whole project will fall apart," he said, panting. "Tandeki won't have their precious little golden boy anymore. I just have to kill Kitano-sensei's favorite little pet and my life will go back to normal!" Masaomi jumped in the way with his arms outstretched. Satoshi snorted.

"Get out of the way," he said in a low voice. "I have to do this."

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that," the blonde-haired boy said. "I actually like my bestie here and certain boobylicious girl would be sad if something were to happen to him. I don't understand what's going on here, but I won't let you murder my friend."

"Yeah, you say that now, but how long before that changes? How long before you see Chirin as a monster just like everyone else will? How long before you abandon him? How long before you decide to kill him?"

Mikado froze at those questions. He began to get a clearer picture of Aida Satoshi. This was just a scared boy who had been dragged through the same hell that he was. Satoshi didn't have friends to pull him back from the edge. His parents abandoned and he had to push away the one person he cared about to spare her from his misery. Mikado covered up his right eye, but couldn't see anything surrounding Satoshi. The older boy dropped his hand as he fully became to understand his fellow tadpole's pain.

But still the instinct to live screamed at him louder than anything else.

Satoshi raced forward with a loud scream. Masaomi kicked him in the knee, knocking the boy to the ground. The younger boy clutched the knife, panting.

"Chirin must die!" he shouted. "I have to kill him! I have to kill him!" Satoshi lunged towards Mikado again, but Masaomi tackled him back. It didn't feel right to feel a guy's breasts rubbing against his, but that didn't stop the Yellow Scarves shogun from wrestling the knife out of the Satoshi's hand.

"Give it back!" the younger boy yelled. He tried to bit Masaomi on the arm. The blonde boy gritted his teeth and refused to let go of the knife. Satoshi's mind filled back with all of the misery that he had been dragged through as he bit and tried to pry the knife out of Masaomi's hand. Mikado stood back unsure what to do. He wasn't physically strong, but he had to try and do something.

Meanwhile, Masaomi bit on Satoshi's hand to get him to let go. The other boy gave off a muzzled scream before letting go. Masaomi leapt back, panting. He turned with the knife in his hand to his friend. Still, the boy didn't seem to want to give up. His hand reached around for something sharp and got his hand on broken glass. Satoshi's mind dulled out the pain.

"I have to kill Chirin!" he shouted. "I want my life back!" The boy jumped to his feet and raced towards Masaomi and Mikado as they started walking away.

"I hate you, Chirin!" Satoshi shouted. "Die!" The boys turned and glanced at the younger boy racing towards them.

Stab!

* * *

-Midnight-

Izaya sat across from Kitano's desk.

"So who was he?" he asked. The psychiatrist played with his empty glass on his desk.

"Aida Satoshi," he said. "Two years ago, his mother had him committed for an old head injury he suffered in an accident when he was two years old. I enrolled him into the Tadpole Project."

"He's the defective one, right?" he asked.

Kitano glanced over at him. "I see you have been doing some homework."

Izaya smirked and shrugged. "I am an information broker after all. I have my sources."

"I see…" Kitano narrowed his eyes at Izaya. _You are getting too close there, young man._ He shoved aside any thoughts of killing the information broker for the time being.

"Satoshi had Gynecomastia, right?" Izaya asked. "How did that happen?" Kitano put up his hands to shrug.

"We have been studying it for months and we still didn't have an answer for it," he said. "Funny thing, he was the only one who had it. Everyone else in all three generation stayed the same hormone-wise."

"Fascinating," Izaya said. "It's shame that he had to die like that." The therapist had no emotion on his face.

"Why?" he asked. "There are plenty more tadpoles all around Japan." The information broker looked at him slightly off-guard for only a second before regaining his cocky air. Kitano put up his hand when the younger man opened his mouth.

"No, I'm not going to tell you anything about them," he said. "You are smart enough to figure it out for yourself. After all, you didn't really need me to tell you anything about Satoshi, did you?" The older man glanced up to see Izaya smirking to himself.

* * *

-Hours Earlier-

"Masaomi-kun, what did you do?!" Mikado shouted. The blonde shogun shook his head, gasping.

Satoshi dropped to his knees, mouth wide open. Mikado and Masaomi stared in shock at the knife plunged deep into his chest. He didn't make a sound as fell backwards.

"Satoshi!" Mikado yelled, running over to the dying boy. The younger tadpole's short messy dark brown bangs covered his eyes.

"Hold on!" the founder of the Dollars said. "We'll get you to a hospital!" He turned to his friend.

"Call an ambulance!" he yelled. Masaomi pulled out his cell phone. Satoshi's hand inched towards the handle of the knife. His grip kept struggling, but he managed to pull the knife. His breathing became labored as Blood pumped out of his chest.

"What are you doing?!" Mikado shouted. "Why would you do that?!" Bloody knife fell on the snowy ground. Masaomi lowered his phone as his friend tried to stop the bleeding. Mikado could feel the younger boy's life slipping away as he tried to press down on the wound bleeding profusely. Satoshi's lips murmured something that only the other tadpole could here.

"Don't talk," Mikado said. "We'll get you help soon." What he heard next chilled him to his core.

"You have no idea how high up this goes…" Satoshi murmured.

"What?" Mikado asked.

"More of us… It's getting worse… Tandeki… not done… with us… the end is coming…" Satoshi said in short, shallow breaths. His eyes rolled back into his head as his hand went limp.

"No, no, no, no!" Mikado shouted as he shook the boy's body. "You can't die yet! Come on! Come on!" Masaomi put his hand on his friend's shoulder. Mikado looked up to see him shaking his head, frowning. The blonde shogun had to pull him away from the boy. Mikado looked at him with wide eyes.

"Why Masaomi-kun?! Why?! Why?!" he shouted.

"He was going to kill you," Masaomi said in a low voice. "I didn't mean to stab. You saw what happened. It was self-defense." Mikado fell to his knees, shaking. The stabbing alone didn't leave him broken that night. He couldn't get Satoshi's last words out of his head.

"You have no idea how high up this goes… More of us… It's getting worse… Tandeki… not done… with us… the end is coming…"

* * *

-Midnight-

Junko sat in her office at Rampo Biotech just as she finished up her latest report on Mikado and his friends. She smirked as she watched as one of the little lights on her tablet screen die out.

"And then there were forty-eight," the nurse muttered to herself. Junko looked up and noticed that the clock had struck midnight.

"Oh," she said. The nurse pulled out her cell phone and pulled up the Deathvine web site. She got the latest Blue Square suicide video being uploaded just in time.


	9. Aoba

Halo Eight: Aoba:

Deathvine's popularity has been growing in the past six months. Funny thing, that site's been up for close to six years and nobody's noticed it until now. Last night's latest video definitely caught everyone's attention once again.

[The boy who founded the Dollars carried his fallen tadpole brother on his shoulders. Sometimes, he would see Satoshi peering around the corner, staring at him with judgmental eyes.

"Why didn't you die instead me?" his gaze always asked. It felt that no Satoshi's final words didn't make it any easier.

"You have no idea how high up this goes… More of us… It's getting worse… Tandeki… not done… with us… the end is coming…"]

"Sempai! Sempai! Sempai!"

Mikado jerked his head upwards. Aoba stared at him with concerned eyes.

"Were you even listening to me?" he asked. His sempai stared at him, blinking for about a second. It took a little while for the words to finally sink in. Mikado was about to walk into his classroom when his kouhai tracked him down with something about the Blue Squares and Deathvine. Seeing Aoba's face reminded him of Satoshi and his misery.

"Oh," Mikado said. "I'm sorry. What were we talking about again?" Aoba narrowed his eyes.

"Is something bothering you?" he asked. Mikado stared at him, wide-eyed. _I can see people's inner demons, I am an ex-patient from Chou Mori, and I just saw some like me die after Masaomi-kun stabbed him by accident._

"I'm just a bit distracted," he said at last. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

[Chirin couldn't tell his second-in-command what was going on with him. How would Aoba take it? Only Masaomi had the tip of the iceberg about Project Tadpole. Chirin couldn't even bring himself to look at his friends' inner demons, much less figure out what to do with this power.]

"This," Aoba said. He showed him his phone and pulled up the e-mail message. Mikado read the message title.

"Science Experiment?" he asked. The older boy opened scrolled down and found the link. Aoba waited as he knew the next part that was coming. In fact, he had to force himself to join Mikado in watching the grotesque video for the second time.

This time, Yatsufusa was the victim in the video. He was writing something on the bathroom wall with what looked like lipstick. Thanks to the clear quality of the video, Mikado and Aoba could make out the message saying, "I do not deserve to live." Several other degrading things were written all over the bathroom wall.

Worthless.

Pathetic.

Scum of the earth.

Weak.

Stupid.

Useless.

I am shit.

When he was done, Yatsufusa turned and climbed into a bathtub filled to the top with water. Just like Gin and Yoshikri, the boy also had a dazed look in his eyes. He held a hair dryer plugged into the wall in his right hand.

"No, don't do it, Yatsufasa," Mikado said. "Don't do it. Don't do it!" Sadly, Yatsufusa threw the blow dryer into the water. The leader of the Blue Squares and Dollars had to cut off the video when he heard the screams. He had already seen enough death this week. He turned to Aoba, looking pale.

"Is he really…?" Mikado began to ask. Aoba nodded with a stern look on his face.

"But why?"

"I think they were murdered." The deadpan tone in his voice did little ease to him. Mikado did his best to regain his composure.

"Did you try going to the police?" he asked.

"Why would I? They all think that it's suicide."

"I guess you're right. I'll look into it and see what I can do."

"Good morning, boys!" Mikado and Aoba heard as if on cue. They looked up and saw Junko walking towards them. The older of the two could hear "run away" chanting in his head on a loop.

"Good morning, Chiba-sensei," Aoba said. The nurse tried to hold back her screaming when she saw the blue-haired boy's face. Kuronuma Aoba. The bane of her existence on her end of the game. She wanted to replace that cocky attitude with one of fear and misery so badly. He would be reduced down to an empty shell when she got through with him.

But Junko couldn't kill him yet. Oh no. Against boss' orders. For now, she would have to deal with him.

"Excuse me, I need to borrow Ryugamine-kun for a little bit," the nurse said. She grabbed onto Mikado's shoulder and dragged him along with her before either boy could speak up. The older boy looked back at his kouhai before Junko pushed his head back forward.

* * *

Mikado sat at Junko's desk in the infirmary. Already, he began crafting an excuse to get him back to class. The nurse tightened up her black ponytail.

"Chirin-kun," she said. "You really shouldn't be hanging around that boy."

"Why is that?" Mikado asked with a strange look on his face.

"Oh… just that's beneath you. You are a higher breed now; you shouldn't be hanging around trash. Besides, he might not have long to live."

"What do you mean by that?"

Junko sat back, smirking. "How are you coming with your powers?"

"What do you mean Aoba-kun might not have long to live?"

The nurse's face came within inches of his. "Answer my question first, Chirin-kun. Every time he heard the name, "Chirin", it made him cringe. _That is not my name._

"They creep me out."

"But you have to see them or you will die."

Her words set something inside of him. Mikado lifted his hand and covered up his right eye. Junko raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh?" she asked.

"What happened to your mother?" the tadpole boy asked. "Why did she run away to Scotland?" The nurse snatched his hand away from his eye.

"And we're done here," she said. "You can go back to class now." Junko pushed Mikado out the door before he had a chance to ask. After the door slid closed, he did some thinking. Maybe the next time that Junko harasses him and his friends he could ask her more about her mother. _I could use that to our advantage…_

* * *

The rumors about the Blue Squares began to spread to the streets of Ikebukuro. The most popular one was of a suicide pact among the gang. They didn't bother to look at the reasoning behind this theory. The police found it an open and shut case. Besides, suicides in Japanese were pretty common.

Aoba sat in class with his mind elsewhere. Four of his fledglings were dead. It pissed him off to hear about the suicide pact rumors. Watching the Yatsufusa video confirmed his suspicions. The first time he saw the video, the victim had bruises all over his face. Yatsufusa wouldn't willingly kill himself. He and the others had to be forced to kill themselves.

But how?

Everywhere he went in school today were talking about Deathvine. Even Mairu and Kururi had seen a few of the videos on the YouTube-imitator site. They too had seen the Yatsufusa's snuff film.

"So creepy," Mairu said on the roof at lunch time. Aoba was half-listening at first.

"Right," he said.

"Who would make a site for videos like that?" she asked.

"Yeah," Kururi said. The gang leader looked up at the twins. Mairu and Kururi stared at their phones intently.

"What are you guys watching?" Aoba asked.

"This video that was in the Dollars chatroom this morning," Mairu said. It took seconds for it to sink into Aoba's brain. He raced over to the twins and yanked their cell phones out of their hands.

"What are you doing?!" Mairu asked.

"You shouldn't be watching that trash!" Aoba shouted.

"What are you talking about?" the mouthy twin asked. Kururi tried to take back her phone. The founder of the Blue Squares sighed.

"Who posted that link?" he asked. Aoba scrolled through the chat log. Most of the responses were filled with shock and disgust.

_Is this for real?_

_Creepy!_

_That's just sick._

_Who would post such a thing?_

_This can't be real._

_So it is true._

Aoba finally found the handle that posted the link. A puzzled look came over his face.

"Who is Lady Death?" he asked.

"Don't know," Mairu said. "She just appeared last month. Nobody knows who she is and she won't talk to anyone." Aoba stared at the handle. This mess had leaked to the last place that he had hoped. Why was he getting so worked up about it? Those boys weren't really his friends. They weren't that close. With the exception of Yatsufusa, Aoba found his fledglings to be idiots. Still, this wasn't right. Their deaths shouldn't be made into a circus for some disturbing web site. They didn't deserve to be dragged through the mud in some suicide pact rumors.

"Listen," Aoba said. "Don't look at any videos from Deathvine or any links from Lady Death."

"Why?" Mairu asked.

"Just don't," he said. "Please?"

"Alright," Kururi said. The boy pressed his hand to his forehead. _Let me get to the bottom of this before it gets out of hand._

* * *

Around 11:55 p.m., Aoba came by Mikado's apartment.

"Are you alone?" the older boy whispered.

"Yes," Aoba said. That question rather put him off. Mikado pulled him in before he could ask any questions.

"You have to stay quiet," the Dollars founder whispered. He looked over at Masaomi sound asleep in the futon.

"Since when has Kida been staying over?" Aoba asked.

"It's a long story," his sempai said, waving him off. "I tried to get into the database of Deathvine, but I kept getting booted off or blocked."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Don't worry, I'm about to go onto the site myself." Mikado walked over to the computer and moved the mouse. The boys were greeted with a "page not found" message.

"The site comes up at midnight, right?" Aoba asked.

"Yes," Mikado said. He looked at the clock on the bottom right corner of the screen. "We've got four minutes to go." The tadpole leaned back and sighed. Moments earlier while Masaomi slept, Mikado broke and looked to see his best friend's inner demons. His curiosity got the better of him and the blonde-haired boy was already sound asleep.

_He won't see me when I do this. I'm sorry, Masaomi-kun._

Mikado covered up his right eye.

A red, jelly-like demon sat on Masaomi's shoulder as he slept. A bright green chain pattern around its neck looked like it was choking the creature. The demon looked up at him with its green eyes. Mikado tried to not show any reaction as it stared at him.

_What is this?_

It didn't help that the demon kept speaking like it had snorted lines of cocaine for days.

_Saki! Saki! Saki! Saki! I hurt her! I don't want her to die! I can't lose her again!_

Hearing those words made Mikado's heart sink. _Masaomi-kun, why didn't you tell me you were so worried about Saki?_

"Sempai. Sempai," a voice back in reality said. Mikado turned to see Aoba poking him in the arm.

"Hm?" the older boy asked.

"It's time," Aoba said. Mikado looked at his clock on his screen.

Midnight.

"Fine," he whispered. The founder of the Dollars hit refresh. They were greeted with the giant 3-D laughing skill. Mikado cringed as he clicked on it.

The site looked like YouTube's darker, goth cousin. Most of the videos contained people cutting body parts, dead animals, and innards of humans and animals. However, Aoba noticed one of the videos in the recently added section.

"Sempai, look," he whispered. Mikado's eyes were directed to the section at the new add. At the same time, Aoba's phone buzzed.

"Hanging Around/Burn Baby?" Mikado asked. The younger boy noticed that he had the same title in his e-mail. Both of them clicked on the link.

This time, the Nitari twins were in this video back to back. Both boys looked dazed like the other three boys. The older twin looked into the camera before walking over to a noose hanging behind him. He stepped up a small stool, put the noose around his neck, and kicked away the stool. The video fast forwarded until the boy hung dead.

The younger brother stood outside with a can of gasoline in his hand. He opened the cap and poured it all over himself. The boy took a match and set himself on fire. The videos looped back to the beginning before Aoba turned to Mikado.

"It says that it was posted by someone called Lady Death," the older boy said. "The profile has been marked as private, though." A light bulb flickered on in his head when he heard "Lady Death".

"Isn't that the same 'Lady Death' in the chatroom?" he asked.

"There was a new user in the chatroom?"

"Haven't you been on there lately?"

"No…"

The boys looked back at their screens. By morning, the bodies would join the other four in the morgue. Two more to go.

* * *

Elsewhere, Izaya looked out the window at the city. He only had sheets wrapped around his waist. His lips curved into that infamous smirk of his.

"Looks like everyone is buying the Blue Squares suicide pact rumor," he said. The information broker turned and looked behind him. Mari lay in her bed with her sheets covering her sweat-covered body.

"You can't stay here," she said. "Go sleep on the couch." Izaya turned to her, pouting.

"Aw, why must you be so mean, Mari-chan?" he asked. "We've been sleeping together every night. You won't let me stay in bed with you afterwards. You are so cold." Mari turned over in bed. Izaya dropped his shoulders and rolled his eyes.

"Fine, whatever," he muttered. Mari kept her back turned as the information broker gathered up his clothes and closed the door behind him. She already knew what his fate. She was trapped by Tandeki, but he could still escape.

Mari would have to push him away before it was too late.


	10. Tadpoles

Halo Nine: Tadpoles:

The Tadpole branch called a meeting on January eighteenth. Kitano rose at the head of the table.

"The awakening portion of the Tadpole Project is complete," he said. "We will now begin phase one of the experiments." The therapist held out two baggies of gel tablets in his hands. He held a bag or red in his left and a bag of blue in his right.

"Asato-sensei and I developed these pills last night," Kitano explained. "We are only allowed to pick one for this experiment. The other will be used for the next one."

"What do they do?" Roc asked.

"You will see once we put them in," Kitano said. "Now, raise your hands for red." Roc and one of Etsuko's interns raised their hands.

"Two," Etsuko said after a count.

"Blue?" Kitano asked. The rest of the interns raised their hands. The doctor gave another count.

"Six," she said. Kitano shoved the baggie of red tablets into his sweatshirt pocket.

"Okay, we will go with the blue pills," he said. Yuka raised her hand.

"But how do we get the pills to the test subjects?" she asked. "Since they are starting to get their memories back, they won't trust us to come near them."

"Come with me," Kitano said. He walked out of the conference room with the baggie of blue pills in his hand. Etsuko turned and followed close behind. Curious, both groups of interns followed their managers across the hall. Etsuko ushered them into a darkened room in single file. Kitano stood in the middle next to a table covered in a thick blanket.

"This is how," he said. The psychiatrist threw back the sheet. The interns stared with their jaws to the floor at a giant glowing Heartseed plant sitting on the table. Little white flowers were in bloom like little mouths begging for food. Rumi moved her hand to her chest as she and the others could feel a vibrating pounding in the atmosphere.

"What is that?" Yuka asked.

"A special type of Heartseed plant," Kitano answered. "This is our link to the tadpoles." Everyone except Etsuko looked confused.

"Asato-sensei, please explain in the simplest of terms," he said. His partner cleared her throat.

"This plant was a gift from a Shinto priest that was a former client of Kitano's," she said. "He put a special binding spell on it and we fed it the sample of the tadpoles' blood."

"And all we have to do is open the baggie and feed each pill to the flowers," Kitano added. All eyes focused on his hands as he fed each flower with the blue gel tablets. The flowers closed up and went back into their pods. The light green glow changed into a hazy blue.

"Now what?" Yayoi asked.

"We wait," the boss said. He pulled out his cell phone and set a timer. Etsuko reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of dice.

"Follow me back to the conference room," she said. Etsuko led the interns back across the hall.

* * *

-Experiment #1 Begins-

Mikado with a strange sense of peace for a change. Still, he couldn't help but get the feeling that something was missing from him. The founder of the Dollars looked beside him to see Masaomi sound asleep. Mikado looked down at his own body. Everything was still there, all his fingers, toes, and body parts. He and Masaomi were still in his apartment.

Mikado began to remember that Aoba can over last night to check out that web site, Deathvine. He shuddered as he remembered those videos of the Nitari twins. Thinking back, the founder of the Dollars started to share the same thoughts that Aoba had about the situation. But who was murdering members of the Blue Squares and why?

Despite his promise to help Aoba get to the root of the problem, more pressing matters began to take over.

At eight o'clock, Mikado's cell phone rang. He looked at the screen to see that the caller's id was blocked. Part of him didn't want to even answer. Maybe if he ignored it long enough they would go away…

"Hello?" Mikado asked in a whisper.

"Good morning, tadpoles," a pre-recorded voice said on the other line. Mikado felt his spine freeze. _No…_

"You are receiving this call because you are now in first new experiment in the Tadpole Project," Kitano's voice said in the recording. "For the next seventy-two hours, you will lose one sense. Which one you lose will be determined by the number that you will receive via voice message or text. Consider it a motive to strengthen your powers and evolve. I will you luck. Goodbye." Mikado's hand trembled and clutched the phone as the other line hung up. He began to remember Satoshi's words.

_Not again. Why can't they just leave me alone?_

Suddenly, his phone buzzed in his hand. The boy looked and saw the promised message. Mikado reluctantly opened the text.

"Congratulations, Chirin-kun," the message read. "You have rolled a six. You will lose your tadpole instinct for the next seventy-two hours. You will not be able to sense your own kind and nor will they be able sense you. Good luck and survive."

Mikado didn't know whether to scream or cry. Good thing it was a Saturday today.

* * *

On that same morning, Shinra went back to doing more research on Project Tadpole. Every time he dove in, more details about Chou Mori began to surface. The underground doctor went over what he had put together so far.

Chou Mori opened with good intentions under Genji Kozue in 1965. For five years, the hospital was a place of healing and aiding the mentally ill. In fact, it was one of the top institutions in Japan. However, Genji died of heart disease July 10th, 1970. His death came a surprise to his colleagues and family. Chou Mori's founder always bragged about his good health. In fact, there were rumors that he had been poisoned, but there were no known motives for it.

Because of his Genji's death, Chou Mori faced financial problems and overcrowding. So far from what Shinra had read, the mental hospital had changed hands about eight times in the course of forty-five years before closing down for good last year.

Still, it wasn't exactly what Shinra wanted.

Suddenly, the doctor got a notification for a new e-mail message. Shinra really became curious when he read that it was Izaya.

Subject line?

"Tadpole List, You're REALLY going want to read this," the doctor read to himself. _Okay then._ Shinra clicked on the message. At last, he had the list of patients in the Tadpole experiments. Three generations total. Forty-eight patients total. (One of them had recently died, hence why Aida Satoshi was crossed out in the third generation list. Shinra had to read over it three times. He froze in his tracks when he saw Mikado's name on the list under the third generation list.

As if on cue, his cell phone rang, snapping him out of his shock. Shinra's hand searched for his phone for a minute.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Hello, Shinra!" Izaya said on the other line.

"Izaya, what did you send me?"

"Just what your dad is looking for."

"Why is Mikado's name on the list?"

"He's one of the tadpoles that your dad is looking for. Tell me, Shinra, have you ever ask your dad why he is so interested in the project?"

"No…" Shinra said as he turned his focus back to the computer screen.

* * *

-Forty-Five Minutes into the Experiment-

Mikado sat in his futon, trying to assess the situation. He couldn't sense his own kind for the next seventy-two hours. That could play in his favor. He still had his powers, much to his dismay. (Mikado ran that test when he looked at Masaomi's demon again. It still sat on his shoulder, staring at him. The rhythm of its speech didn't change either.)

Still, Mikado had a problem.

Sure, they couldn't tell that he was a tadpole, but that meant he couldn't tell who was a tadpole or not either. Another Satoshi could be on the loose, looking for revenge and he might not know it. Mikado buried his head into his hands.

_I think I'm going to be sick._

Mikado paused when he heard mumbling next to him. He turned to see Masaomi stirring awake.

"Morning," he said, half-asleep. Mikado tried to act normal.

"G-G-Good morning," he said. He already decided not to tell Masaomi about the little demon that he saw on his shoulder. His friend sat up with a strange look on his face.

"What's wrong, Mikado?" he asked. "You look so pale." The other boy rubbed his forehead.

"I'm fine," he said. "I'm fine. In fact, I'm going to go out for a little bit." The founder of the Dollars stood up and walked to his bathroom.

"Mikado?" Masaomi asked. His friend came back out after he got dressed. Mikado walked out of his apartment as if in a daze.

"Mikado?" Masaomi asked again as the door swung shut.

* * *

Outside, Mikado breathed in the winter air. Masaomi couldn't handle learning a secret that big. Still, he wouldn't leave. His best friend learned around him being in Chou Mori and witnessed another tadpole that tried to kill him. Mikado shook his head and trembled.

_I can't drag Masaomi-kun further in than he already is. I don't want him to know about my powers._ Mikado looked down at his hand. Masaomi would probably think of him as a freak if he told him about that little demon on his shoulder. But, he couldn't sit back and watch his friend suffer in his pain like that.

_I have to do something to save Saki._ But he would need to find out the whole story first. _How do I ask without giving away what I saw?_

His thoughts were interrupted by a crashing noise across the street.

Mikado looked up and saw a girl about Aoba's age stumbling around in the streets. She swung her air around as if trying to feel around for something. The founder of the Dollars gave her a strange look.

_Is she okay?_

The girl stumbled around, still trying to feel out for something, anything. The more he watched, the more he became uneasy.

_I should probably do something. She could fall or get hit by a car._ Mikado looked around for anyone else. What if this girl was just like him? What if she was angry like Satoshi wanted to kill him too?

Strangely enough, Mikado didn't think about all of that when he dashed across the street to the girl before she fell and hit the ground. He managed to grab her by the arm just in time.

"You okay?" he asked. The girl froze.

"Yes," she said. "I'm fine now." She stood up and turned around. A puzzled look came over Mikado's face. The girl's eyes looked brown and clouded over.

"Are you… blind?" he asked.

"I wasn't born like this," she said.

"What?"

"It happened just a few minutes ago. I woke up and everything was pitch black. I asked my mom what time it was and she said it was eight in the morning. I waved my hand in front of my face and couldn't see it."

Mikado resisted saying that something similar happened to him this morning, but instead asked, "Did you get a phone call this morning?"

"Yes."

"Did it say you were part of some experiment where you would lose one sense for the next seventy-two hours?"

"How did you know?"

Mikado nervously shifted his eyes back and forth. "I got the same phone call too."

"Really? What number did you roll?"

He wasn't sure if either one should be talking about this. They had no way to tell if the other was lying or not. Mikado had no way to sense if she was like him or not. Still, it felt much better for some reason to come out and say this. Maybe he could have a new ally on his side through this hell unwinding around him and his friends.

"Six," Mikado said. The blind tadpole girl tilted her head.

"What was that?" she asked.

"I can't sense people like us," he said. "You can't sense me either. What number did you roll?"

"I got another phone message that said I got a one," the girl said.

"And you lost your sight?"

"Yes."

Mikado didn't sense any murderous intent from this blind tadpole girl. She was just as lost as he was in this mess. Maybe they could team up with her and come up with a way to beat Tandeki's game and experiments.

"What is your name?" he asked.

"Emily," the girl said. "Akimoto Emily. What is your name?"

"Ryugamine Mikado," the founder of the Dollars said. However, something else caught his attention. "Who is that guy next to you?"

"Guy… next to me?" Emily asked. She held out her arm to the right. "Oh, you mean Taiyou?"

"Taiyou?"

"He's some spirit being that does what I say."

Mikado narrowed his eyes. "Is that what your power is?"

"Yes. What can you do?"

The older tadpole hung his head in shame. "I see people's inner demons."

"Oh…"

Mikado put his hands to his head. "I hate it. They are so creepy. I didn't really want to know what everyone's problems are."

"I felt the same way about Taiyou when he first appeared in my room." Emily took a small step towards Mikado. "Could you see my demons?"

Mikado shook his head. "It wouldn't work on you. I tried it on another one of us, but I couldn't see anything."

"So our powers wouldn't work on each other?"

"I don't think so."

"Mikado!" someone yelled to them. Mikado turned to see Masaomi running towards them. The blonde boy made it over to the tadpoles.

"So this is where you went," he said once he caught his breath. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I didn't go too far," Mikado said. "I'm fine now, Masaomi-kun." The shogun of the Yellow Scarves looked and caught sight of Emily hiding behind Mikado.

"Oh and who's this cutie next to you?" he asked.

"Is he like us?" she whispered. Mikado shook his head.

"No, this is my friend Masaomi-kun," he said. "Masaomi-kun, this is Emily."

"Is she a foreigner?" Masaomi asked. Emily stepped out and shook her head.

"No, I was born here," she said in a small voice. The Yellow Scarves shogun broke into a huge smile.

"Nice to meet you, little cutie!" he said. Masaomi blew a kiss and winked. Emily didn't know whether to laugh or look awkward.

"Is he always like this?" she whispered. Mikado sighed.

"Yep," he said.

"And he's a normal?"

"Yes, but we can trust him. He is a good person."

She grabbed onto his arm and lowered her head. "I will trust your judgement. For reasons that he couldn't explain at the time, her words gave Mikado a strange sense of feeling needed in this crisis rushing towards them.

* * *

Meanwhile, Etsuko knocked on Kitano's office door.

"Enter," he said. The doctor opened the door and walked inside. Kitano didn't even look up from the notes that he was making.

"What's the problem?" he asked. Etsuko closed the door behind her.

"We seem to have a Trojan Horse heading for us," she said. Kitano glanced up at his partner.

"Nebula?" he asked.

"Yes."

Kitano closed his pen. "Very well. Track down the source and await for me to come down there after I finish up these notes."

Etsuko bowed her head. "Yes, sensei." She turned and walked out of his office. Kitano smirked over his notes.

_So, Nebula finally made their move. I will not let them get to Chirin-kun and his siblings before we get done with them. Unfortunately for you, you are already too late._

In the lab, the Heartseed glowed violent blue with the flowers budding again.


	11. Tetsu

Halo Ten: Tetsu:

-Two Hours into the Experiment-

On a perfect day, Shinra envisioned waking up beside Celty after a heavy sleep. His finger would caress her headless neck. Then, he would coax her into sweet morning lovemaking before she would try to make him breakfast.

Instead, he was out here just ten minutes away from the main part of Ikebukuro, watching this semi-rundown apartment complex with his dad. The underground doctor turned to Shingen sitting in the rental car next to him.

"Refresh my memory," he said with a frown. "Why am I open here with you again?" His father pretended to look hurt behind his gas mask.

"Aw, why would you say that about your own father?" he asked.

"Why am I out here, dad?"

Shingen cleared his throat and pulled out a file. "Aso Tetsu. Age nineteen. Committed to Chou Mori Institution by his father."

"Another tadpole, huh?"

"How did you know?"

"I saw the list myself." Shinra leaned over the window. "So why are we here? Are we going to round him up or something?"

"No."

Shinra looked at his dad with a weird expression on his face. "Huh?"

"We are just to observe him for the time being. Emilia has tracked another tadpole patient across the town and is observing her as we speak."

Shinra turned his attention out the windshield. He and his noticed a young man walking back to the apartment. His spikey hair was a dyed light blonde color, almost like honey. He kept his eyes to the ground as he heard his scarf to his throat. The young man who looked nineteen wore black jeans and a thick brown coat. The underground doctor looked at the file.

"Is that him?" Shinra asked. Shingen looked at the picture in the file before looking in his bronchioles.

"Yeah, that's him," he said. The older man stopped his son just as he was reaching for the door lock and shook his head. Shinra sat back into place, frowning. The men watched as the third male walked up the stairs to seemingly his apartment.

* * *

-Tetsu-

I walked into my dim living room and flopped down on the couch. I still didn't have all of my memories over thing that happened to me in those eighteen months of hell. What came back was an ugly picture.

My wrists strapped to the bed. Needles going into different places in my body. My body feeling so cold. Roc's fists against my legs and torso. High-powered cold water being sprayed on me.

I shivered as I held my head.

Now, I couldn't touch anything without it bursting into flames before my eyes. Why couldn't Kitano-sensei leave me alone? I can't take this anybody.

I lifted my head when I heard footsteps.

"Oh, you're back," Taichi-kun said. "Where did you go?" I leaned back and sighed.

"Just out," I said. He walked over to behind the couch and hugged me from behind. It hurt to have his affection spilled all over me. I am so scared that if we touch that I might kill him. It's gotten even worse this morning.

I never wanted to hear Kitano-sensei's voice again.

It started when I awoke and couldn't feel anything. Literally, I couldn't feel the sheets against my skin. At first, I thought that I was imaging things. When I pinched my wrist, I couldn't feel that either. I couldn't feel anything on with my hands, feet, and skin. I tried to go over what was going on in my head. Did my powers cause this? Will have to go see a doctor?

Then my cell phone rang.

"You are receiving this call because you are now in first new experiment in the Tadpole Project. For the next seventy-two hours, you will lose one sense. Which one you lose will be determined by the number that you will receive via voice message or text. Consider it a motive to strengthen your powers and evolve. I will you luck. Goodbye."

I "rolled" a three.

I wouldn't be able to feel anything for the next three days. I couldn't stay in my apartment when I found out.

"I wish I could help you," Taichi murmured in my ear. "Why do you keep pushing me away?"

It hurt to hear him ask that. I don't want to drag my darling Taichi into my misery. How would he be able to handle that I'm a tadpole now? I couldn't touch him with the fear of burning him to death. I didn't want to risk losing him if he learned about what I had become.

"I am not in a good place right now," I said with a sigh. "I'm afraid…"

"Of what?"

I looked up at him with a heavy heart. He has the most beautiful brown eyes that I have ever seen. I didn't want to fill them with despair. He's been so good to me ever since our senior year of high school. I felt so guilty for him worrying about my problems.

I pressed my lips together.

"I'm afraid that I will end up hurting you."

Taichi-kun rested his cheek against my back. "Why would you do that? You won't even let me touch you anymore." Tears formed in my eyes.

"I don't want to hurt you," I said.

"You won't."

"How can you be so sure that I won't?" It was a good thing that I hadn't taken off my coat or my scarf yet. If Taichi-kun was touching any part of my bare skin, I couldn't bear watching him burst into flames. How could I have been so lucky to have a great guy like him?

"You know what you need?" Taichi-kun asked. "Something in your stomach. Have you eaten yet?"

"No…" I said.

"That settles it then." Taichi-kun let go of me and walked into the kitchen. "I'm going to make us some breakfast."

I looked at that beautiful man as if spoke a foreign language to me. "But it's ten o'clock…"

"Then we'll have a late breakfast." Taichi-kun turned and disappeared into the kitchen before I could say a word. I sat there blinking, unsure on how to react. He was always like this. Sometimes, Taichi-kun cares for be so much that it both puts me in relief and at unease.

* * *

-Four Hours into the Experiment-

Mikado slid Emily a cup of hot tea across the table.

"Thanks," the blind tadpole said. She picked up the cup, but about dropped in on the table. "Ow! Hot!"

"Take your time with it," Mikado said. Emily nodded once. Behind them, Chiharu, Noriko and Anri sat quiet on the floor. Chiharu tilted her head.

"So you weren't born blind?" she asked.

"No," Emily said. "I just woke up like this."

"But how?" Noriko asked.

"I don't really know it myself," the tadpole girl said. Mikado about held his breath when she spoke. Luckily, only he and Emily could see the glaring white man dressed up like a samurai glaring at them. It also helped that the younger tadpole pretended not to see the man sitting next to her. It didn't help that the man kept his hands to his sword.

Mikado's mind went to another matter at hand.

How would he be able to tell who was a tadpole or not? Emily may have not wanted to kill him, but what about the others? Some of them could even be in the Dollars and he wouldn't know it. He buried his hands in head.

"So what are you going to do now?" Masaomi asked. Emily shook her head.

"I don't know," she said in a quiet voice.

"It's okay," Mikado spoke up. He lifted his head as all eyes fell on him. The boy clenched his fists in his lap.

"You have us," he said. "We will keep you safe no matter what." Emily felt her heart jump in her chest.

"Mikado, what are you doing?" Masaomi asked with his eyes. Mikado didn't make eye contact. It was then he came up with a way to help him through the next sixty-eight hours.

* * *

Etsuko walked down to the basement.

"The Greeks won the Trojan War by tricking their enemy into thinking that they had won," she said to herself. "They present the Trojan army with a giant wooden horse, pretending to surrender." She walked over to the elevator and pressed the down button.

"The Trojans brought in such a god-like horse. Little did they know; the Greek army was hidden inside that horse. The Trojan army celebrated their supposed victory." Etsuko walked into the elevator, frowning.

"But by morning, the Greek army had surrounded the sleeping Trojans, sealing their defeat. Thus them, winning the Trojan War."

The elevator doors opened to the polar cold basement.

"This time, the Trojans will not be fooled," Etsuko muttered under her breath. "We Trojans are ready this time. The Greeks won't know what hit them."

Etsuko pulled out her phone and went into her Google map app. It didn't take her long to pull up the address for Shinra and Celty's apartment.

* * *

\- Four Hours and Forty-Five Minutes into the Experiment-

Mikado went out to a local drug store and purchased an eye patch.


	12. Fujihara

Halo Eleven: Fujihara:

-Fujihara-

I am used to being rejected.

Every woman that I have asked out always turned me down. I've heard every excuse in the book. I know what they really think of me. They look at me and think that I am creepy. It's not my fault I turned out this way.

When I was fifteen, I had a crush on this girl at my school. She happened to be one of the popular girls at the time. She had dyed her hair a bright red. This girl always was high-maintenance with her looks, but very kind to the little guys like me. I probably never get a girl like that in my life. Still, something inside of me told me to ask out to the latest film at the time. I spent that whole day trying to gather up the courage. I was so surprised when she said yes.

Our date turned out rather nice. She said that she wanted to see me again afterwards. I felt like flying to the sky that night. Before long, we started dating. Everyone at school thought that we were an odd couple. Some even believed that she was using me for some sick game. I didn't care. She loved me and I loved her. It would only be natural that would soon have sex.

I frowned as I remembered that night.

My girlfriend acted all coy about it at first. But I managed to coax her into the idea at my house. I led her up to my room and kissed her on the lips. We couldn't stop kissing as we undressed and I pushed her down onto my bed. She was a virgin at the time, so I tried to be gentle with her. After the pain had passed, my girlfriend started to get into it.

I can't exactly explain what happened next.

Right in the middle of our first time together, my hands inched forward and wrapped around my girlfriend's throat. They squeezed tighter with each thrust. She panicked and managed to hit me over the head with my alarm clock. I hit the floor with the thud as she sat up, panting.

"What the hell?!" she screamed. I could stare at her with big, blank eyes.

"I… I…" I said. She jumped off the of the bed and gathered up her clothes. I tried to reach for her wrist as she got dressed, but she slapped away my hand.

"Get away from me, you freak!" she shouted. Once my now-ex got dressed, she ran straight out of my room.

That bitch practically told everyone in the whole school what happened. Other girls started to avoid me. The boys gave me dirty looks. They all whispered about me.

"He really likes choking girls during sex?"

"Creepy."

"Gross!"

"I bet he tried to rape Oko-san!"

"Oh look, he's looking at us."

"Don't go near him; he might choke you too."

The bullying got worse when my desk kept getting vandalized. By that point, I became numb to their harsh treatment. My mother taught me to shut down myself when things got too rough for me to handle.

So, I shut myself down and tuned out everything around me involving people. I went on with my life. I graduated high school, went to college, and became a teacher. Still, I was lonely. I asked out many girls in college and my female coworkers. They all turned me down with their excuses. It didn't bother me; I was used to rejection after all.

That all changed when I met Yamazaki Nanami.

She looked so beautiful with her brown hair to her shoulders. Her legs were long and pale. Speaking of pale, her complex looked so good gently sun-kissed. She looked great in her suit on the first day she came to work. Those boobs and her curves had those male teachers turning heads when she walked by. I had snort back blood when I first saw her. Seeing Yamazaki-san's round face reminded me of my first girlfriend. Naturally, I had to ask her out. I didn't care if she was going to reject me or not.

As predicted, Yamazaki-san turned me down. Her excuse? She said that she wasn't looking for anybody at the moment. I would've just brushed it off and moved on to the next girl to come along.

That all changed when I overheard Yamazaki-san talking with some of her new work friends at in the teacher's lounge. They had hooked her up on a blind date with another male teacher at our school five weeks earlier. She talked about how great her new boyfriend was. That weekend, he had taken Yamazaki-san to Kinkakuji. She even blushed when one of her little work friends asked if she had been intimate with the guy.

I snapped my pen in half.

I'm used to being rejected, but I can't stand liars.

That night, I went to a bar and complained about my problems. The bartender rolled his eyes and poured me another drink. I downed it just as fast.

"Give me another one!" I shouted.

"I think you had enough," he said. I glared at him, growling.

"Give. Me. Another," I hissed. The bartender put up his hands and poured me another drink.

"Pardon me," a someone spoke up. I whipped my head around, clutching my glass.

"What?!" I barked. This man in a black and gold kimono held up his ringed hand at me.

"I couldn't help but overhear that you are having some woman troubles," he said.

"So? What of it?"

This old man with the fancy rings on his fingers set down his glass. "I have a way to make this woman of yours for a night."

I tilted my head. "How?" Chills ran down my spine as this old man leaned in close enough for only him and me could hear the conversation.

"I have a private club outside of Ikebukuro," he whispered. "You could take this woman here and do whatever you please with her for one night."

I gave him a strange look. "Anything?"

"Just as long as you don't leave any marks on your date."

As much as I wanted to get excited, logic won't hear of this. "What's the catch?"

"There is no catch tonight. If you become a member, you can get in for a free trial. Just follow me and I will get you signed up."

"And the woman?"

"We'll get her there."

"How?"

The old man waved his hand over his half-empty glass. "Well… You let my staff with that part of the equation. Oh and she won't remember anything that happened to her the night before."

The whole thing sounded rather dubious. Every part of me screamed to run away as I shook my head. "You're crazy."

"That's how we operate."

"I don't get it. Why are you telling this?"

The old man looked at his rings. "Because you will join my club. I know your type." I leapt off of my stood, left my money, and practically ran out of the bar. I swore to myself to never speak to that crazy man ever again.

Then came the next month.

At school, I saw Yamazaki-san flashing a big princess cut engagement ring to her work friends. Her boyfriend had proposed at school when the students had gone home. When I saw that diamond, I snapped another pen in half.

I'm used to being rejected, but I can't really stand liars.

That night, I went back to that bar. Sure enough, that old man was in the exact place at the bar he was last month. He looked up when I marched over to him.

"Yes?" he asked.

"That deal," I said. "Sign me up!" He chuckled as he pushed aside his glass.

"Sorry, friend," he said. "That ship sailed off without you."

"But…"

He held up his ringed hand. "But, you can still get in on a trial of the Gold Plan. Interested?"

I lowered my head. "Yes."

The old man bowed. "My name is Watanabe Hikibi. Nice to meet you."

"Uh… I'm Fujihara Isamu," I said rather nervously.

* * *

-Five Hours into the Experiment-

Mikado stood in the drug store bathroom with the eye patch in hand. He had been through this in his head before he even left his apartment. The boy needed a way to see who was a tadpole or not. He had a hunch based on what he saw with Satoshi. If he was right, the way that Mikado could tell who was a tadpole or not is if he could see their inner demons or not. He already resolved on his way to the drug store to bite the bullet and look the whole population of Ikebukuro's inner demons. But still left his friends. He already saw Masaomi's demon. Mikado didn't think he could stomach seeing what Anri, Chiharu, or Noriko had sitting on their shoulders. If would be easier if he could isolate himself, but Masaomi wouldn't hear of it.

"You are not okay," the shogun told his friend on Christmas night. "I am not leaving your side." The stern look Masaomi's eyes said that he would not hear any arguments. Mikado couldn't remember a night since then that Masaomi ever went home.

Today, Mikado took in a deep breath and put the eye patch on over his right eye. For a brief second, he saw himself back in his bed at Chou Mori. The founder of the Dollars shook his head and hurried out of the bathroom.

The people in the drug store had their demons sitting on their shoulders. Some of the creatures looked like they were wearing oni masks. Already, their voices filled Mikado's head.

_He's cheating on me again, isn't he?_

_I don't think I am going to pass my entrance exam this time._

_I will just die alone._

_Does he just like me because I have big boobs?_

Mikado shoved his hands into his coat pockets as winced and clenched his teeth. _I will not let them scare me. I have to face them._ He took in a deep breath and walked out of the drug store. The walk through the snow turned into a test of his patience and sanity. It felt like he was on a day trip in hell. More secrets and insecurities made his ears hurt. Mikado tried not to make eye contact with the demons riding around on their humans' shoulders.

_If I can just make it back home, I will be fine. I just have to get home._ The boy drew in heavy breaths. The thin, winter air made his lungs ache. Mikado quickened his walk.

_My mom's boyfriend is so creepy._

_I like my best friend, but I can't tell her that I'm cheating with her boyfriend._

_Why won't she call?_

Mikado could feel himself about to break into a run. How much longer before he got home? By now, people were probably staring at him. He had to force himself not to make eye contact. Speaking of his eyes…

The boy began to feel a twitching pain in his left eye. He placed his hand under it. The veins throbbed under his skin. When Mikado pulled away his hand, little drops of an inky black substance stuck to his fingers. But, he still won't take off the eye patch. He had to know if there were other tadpoles around. He looked down the crowded street. When did home ever feel so far away?

Mikado pushed himself to keep walking through the demons' chatter, wailing, and hissing. One of them even hissed at him with its tongue sticking out.

He finally made it back to his apartment. By now, the vision in his left eye had become so blurry. A trail of dried black inky substance clung to the skin. Mikado pressed his hand to his forehead. The winter wind was a welcome change to his ears. The boy sank to his knees panting and took off the eye patch.

_I probably overdid it._

This whole walk brought back another unpleasant memory.

Chirin lay in his bed unbound, but too weak to move. This took place before his left eye turned green. The female doctor took a damp cotton ball and rubbed it on his left arm. Her fingers pressed down onto his skin before trying a tourniquet around it. He could barely feel the needle going into the vein when he realized that she had hooked him up to an IV. Thick clear fluids started to drain into his body as the doctor took notes. She closed her pen and walked off.

Twelve hours.

Twelve hours that drug to disappear into his body and practically change it from the inside. He became short of breath. Maybe the side effects were kicking in. The doctor's words were coming to him.

"You will feel like you are having a heart attack about three hours in," she said. "Shortness of breath, pain in your chest, lightheadedness, cold sweats, and weakness in your limbs."

She wasn't joking about the side effects. On the first dose, Mikado thought he was going to die.

Back in present day, the boy shook his head. The walk back to his apartment opened up a new door. Would he bend to Tandeki's will and try to strengthen his powers and risk alienation, more painful memories, and possibly his sanity?

It was then Mikado happened to look up and see two girls about Emily's age staring at him from across the street.

_How long have they been there?_

-Downtown Ikebukuro-

Emilia sat in a McDonalds waiting a girl with a deep purple ponytail munching on a burger. Her eyes looked dazed off into space. She didn't look like she was enjoying her lunch, but rather mindlessly eating her cheeseburger and fries. The researcher pulled out the file that she was given this morning.

Koike Akiko, age fifteen. Admitted to Chou Mori Institution two years ago by her step-mother.

The researchers at Nebula were going to be pretty busy for the next three days. Now that they had the list of patients, they could track them down and maybe capture them. For months, it had turned into a game of chicken with the Tandeki Group. Both sides dared each other to make the first move. So far, the stalemates kept stacking up. If only they had an advantage to pull ahead of their rival…

Akiko finished her lunch and stood up with her tray. Emilia watched as the girl threw away her trash. She knew that she would track this tadpole down for the next sixty-seven hours. Still, they would have to be drawn to the head of their generation. Nebula didn't have that information until now.

As Emilia followed Akiko out of the McDonalds, she knew that another researcher would be following Mikado back to his apartment.

-Izaya and Mari-

Izaya tried to reach for Mari's hand as they walked down the street. She pulled away before his fingertips could touch. He pouted like a hurt little puppy.

"Mari-chan," he said. "Why won't you let me hold your hand?"

"Don't."

"Why are you so mean?"

"Stop."

"Oh come on, we've been really intimate for weeks now."

"I'm not your girlfriend."

"Okay, okay. So what are we?"

"Nothing."

"Harsh!"

She sighed and rubbed her forehead. Mari already knew how this would end. Izaya didn't seem to be taking a hint. Or rather, he didn't seem to care. The information broker turned to her with a dirty smile on his face.

"What?" Mari asked.

"What are you doing Valentine's Day?" Izaya asked.

"Why?"

"Well, it's been so lonely since Namie disappeared."

"I'm working all day."

"Aw, that's not fun."

"That's how it is."

Izaya tried to grab her hand again, but Mari pulled back. She began to walk ahead of him. Playing with her like this, but it annoyed him that he couldn't quite figure her out. Sure, Izaya looked at her profile in the personnel files, but who was Otomo Mari? She always shut him down and blocked him out when he would get too close. But why would she be sleeping with him it she wouldn't give him her heart? Izaya couldn't let up on his lead until he had a strong footing into Tandeki's plans. If he had to turn on the charm to pull her into spending the day with him on Valentine's Day, turn on the charm he will. The information broker jogged to catch up with her.

He already knew where tonight would end up.

-Aoba-

At midnight, Aoba got another e-mail that filled him with predictable dread.

"Neko's Last Life" was the subject title. Aoba prepared himself for the shock video as he opened the message and opened the link.

Neko stared at the camera with a dazed look on his face on top of their hideout. He gave the lenses a little wave goodbye. The boy turned and walked to the edge. Neko jumped off. The sound of him hitting the ground in the distance made Aoba jump. He tossed his phone across the room before the video could loop back to the beginning. The boy got dressed, grabbed his phone, and rushed out of his room.

And just like that, Aoba was only shark left in the ocean known as Ikebukuro.


	13. Tandeki

Halo Twelve: Tandeki:

-February 13th-

Across the street, Yui watched as the EMT's loaded Neko's sheeted body into the silent ambulance. A woman with her boyfriend was still traumatized after seeing the boy hit the pavement in a splatter of blood. The police were asking the witnesses questions as part of a routine. Meanwhile, Yui pulled out her phone.

"We've got only one left," she said.

"Delightful!" Junko said. "I will let the others know. You can go home now."

"Thank you," her intern said. Yui hung up and walked away. One fraction of Ikebukuro was almost wiped out. Its founder was the only target left.

-Night Shift-

-Junko, Aya, and Etsuko-

"That leaves the Yellow Scarves, the Dollars, Saika's Army, Nebula, the Awakusu, and the Toramaru," Junko said as ran her finger along the glass tube holding the five trapped pieces- a red piece, a yellow piece, a mini-bride cake topper, a mini-cherub cake topper, and a blue piece.

"Have you started on your assignment to revert F yet?" Etsuko asked.

"Yeah, yeah," the nurse muttered. "I'm on it. But how do we take out the Yellow Scarves and everyone else I listed?"

"One step at a time here," the doctor said. "We can't do anything too rash. We'll attract attention. We've already got Nebula on our backs." Junko rolled her eyes.

"Them again?" she asked. "Why can't they just fuck off?"

"Because they are the Greek army," Etsuko said. The nurse turned to her with a puzzled look on her face.

"Again with the Greek mythology analogies?" she asked.

"I find it rather fitting myself."

"Okay, so who are the Trojans?"

"We are. And Kishitani's son is the horse."

"And who is Helen?"

Etsuko took a moment to think about it. "That is a good question."

"Who cares?" Aya asked. "How do we get rid of everyone else?" Etsuko pulled out her tablet.

"I think next up, we should do away with the Yellow Scarves," she said.

"And how do we do that?" Junko asked. "You can't use her again; they will catch on to what we're doing."

"I already thought of that," the doctor said. "And I will use her sister for this job." The other two women gave her odd looks.

"Speaking of which, when is she coming here?" Junko asked. Etsuko broke into a little smile as she pulled out her notes on the current Tadpole Experiment.

"Oh," she said. "She will be in the city by midnight. I'll have to ask when her brothers and sister are coming." Etsuko took her finger and pulled up another file. "Now, we must begin part two of this round." Junko perked up her head with a cat-like smile.

"Oh?" she asked. "What are you suggesting?"

"Do you know what's coming up soon?" the doctor asked. Aya did a quick count in her head.

"Valentine's Day?" she asked. It didn't take her long to figure out where this was headed. "What do have planned on that day?"

"First, I will cut Chirin's final tie with the Blue Squares," Etsuko said. "Then we need to find the gate and open it." Junko smirked as held up her phone.

"I think I can help you with part of the second part," she said. The other two ladies came around and looked at her screen. Junko blew up the map with her fingers.

"I had some free today at the academy today," she said. "If we are right, we're looking for spots with high energy. I narrowed that concentration down to this city." With a little work with her fingers, three dots appeared on the screen. Junko grinned at her stunned coworkers.

"No need to think me," she said. "Just some little tracks I picked up from the Dollars chatroom. What's the next item on the agenda?"

-Kitano's Interns-

Yayoi dragged Rumi along, giggling. Yuka followed behind with her arms behind her head.

"Don't you think this is too earlier?" she asked.

"Of course not!" Yayoi shouted. "She's got to meet him sometime." Rumi looked around confused. Yayoi wouldn't tell her why she called her out in the middle of the night.

"We need your help with some paperwork," Yayoi lied.

"But why, Shiga-senpai?" Rumi said. "Why would you need me out there? I've only started really working on the project!"

"It doesn't matter," the older intern insisted. "Just get down here!" Her tone insisted that she didn't have a choice. So now, the promiscuous intern was dragging to the elevator and pushing the open button. Yuka followed the two women behind. Yayoi looked the slender-built woman up and down with an eyebrow raised.

"I don't know why you're here," she said. The med student snorted.

"I don't trust you," she said. Yayoi moved her off as the doors closed and the cab rode up to the eighth floor. Once they stepped off of the elevator, she looked around in the hallway. Only two security camera were rolling and watching anymore coming in and out of the different rooms.

"All clear," Yayoi whispered. "Follow me!" The three women dashed into a conference room. The promiscuous intern pulled out her key card and swiped it through the lock. The red light flashed green. She opened the door and led her co-workers inside. Yayoi sat Rumi down in a stuffy red chair and grabbed onto Yuka's arm.

"You come with me," she said. The black-haired intern led the med student into the projection room.

"This doesn't look like paperwork!" Rumi shouted.

"Uh… It's visual paperwork!" Yayoi was quick to lie. Yuka raised an eyebrow, frowning.

"Visual paperwork?" she asked.

"Yeah!"

"Okay, what are you really up to?"

Yayoi turned to her with a naughty smile on her face. "Introducing her to Chirin-kun. I went over this on the phone already."

"You sure this is okay?"

"It's fine. We're just sitting her down to watch a couple of films. We're not actually going to look at the physical files. I even went ahead and found the right footage to show." She turned back to the microphone.

"Can you hear me? Can you hear me?" Yayoi asked. Rumi looked around outside.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Good," the older intern said. "This is Chirin-kun." She smiled as she turned on the projector. The new intern turned her head towards the pulled down the screen.

-Film Begins-

[Session Number Thirty-Five]

Mikado/Chirin sat, chained up in a wooden chair. His blue eyes looked empty. He made soft noises and he breathed. Footsteps in the film were so loud that Rumi looked towards the closed door.

["Eyes on the screen!" Yayoi said over the microphone. "I want you to get a good look at our darling little angel." Rumi snapped her attention back to the screen.]

On the screen, Kitano pulled out his tape recorder. "This session number thirty-five with Patient Chirin." He walked over to the catatonic boy. He patted him on the head before pulling out a syringe of light purple fluid.

"Today, I will inject him with one dose of the drug, Nio," the doctor-turned-psychiatrist said. "My partner, Asato-sensei, developed this back in 1995. Chirin's body has proven strong enough to proceed with the Tadpole Project." He turned and took Mikado/Chirin by the arm. The camera got a closer look of the needle going into the patient's arm. It backed up when Kitano emptied the syringe.

"Completed," he said. "We will wait for twelve hours before proceeding with the next dose." Kitano walked out of the room. The footage fast forward to twelve hours later. Kitano returned and checked Mikado/Chirin's pulse.

"Patient is still alive," psychiatrist said. "I can now proceed with the second dose." Five doses later, Mikado/Chirin was still alive and in a catatonic state. The session ended with the patient being taken back to his room.

Yayoi and Yuka walked out of the projection room with hungry looks in their eyes. Rumi turned to them, panting. Yayoi's deep red lips curved into a smirk.

"Well?" she asked. Rumi's eyes widened as she panted.

"When do I get to meet him?" she asked. Yuka patted the newbie intern on her head.

"Soon, my dear," she said. "Really soon." Rumi looked down at her hands with red cheeks. She wasn't sure if she was imagining it or not, but her heart began beating in a sped up rhythm. Yayoi looked over at Yuka.

"Still think it was too early?" she asked. Yuka slowly shook her head as her mind went back to that footage they had watched seconds earlier. Yayoi leaned in close to her ear.

"I told you," she said whispered. She and Yuka smirked at the same time.

-Daichi and Osamu-

The boys were tending their flowers in the lab with gas masks on. Osamu paused and looked up at his younger partner.

"I heard that we might need another player to strengthen the game," he spoke up. "Is that true?"

"Yes," Daichi said, not looking from the blooming white blossoms.

"Who do you think it will be?" the older man asked. Daichi stopped and took a minute to think.

"The little busty one would be a good choice," he said. Osamu shook his head.

"Nah, I think blondie's a better choice," he said. "Though, we might have to kill his girlfriend again for a little nudge." Daichi shifted his mask.

"How much do you want to bet?" he asked.

"Excuse me?" Osamu asked.

"How much do you want to bet on we end up using for the game?"

Osamu tilted his head. "How much?"

Daichi pondered this. "I'll buy you dinner."

"Boring."

"Well… what do you want?"

"Steakhouse dinner and sake."

"And 5,000¥?"

"If you want to…"

Daichi smiled behind his gas mask. "Alright, then it's settled. Loser has to pay 5,000¥ and buy a steakhouse dinner and sake."

"You're on." Osamu and Daichi shook on it before resuming their work for Red Rabbit's order.

-Izaya and Mari-

"Mari-chan!" Izaya said as he popped up next to Mari's desk. She leapt in her chair, gasping.

"Don't do that!" she shouted. The information broker grinned.

"I am taking you out to dinner tomorrow night."

"I told you, I have to work."

"So? Take the day shift tomorrow."

Mari sat back and sighed. "We can't keep doing this."

"Why? We're both adults and I didn't force you into a sexual relationship with me." Izaya paused as he noticed her blushing. "Your face looks so red."

"Don't be saying such things out loud!" Mari snapped. Izaya shrugged innocently.

"Everyone around here knows about us," he said. She pressed her hand to her forehead.

"What do you want, Izaya?" she asked. He reached over and took hold of her hand.

"Spend Valentine's with me," the information broker said. He didn't need to push any further. She would give in and end up in his bed. He had come close enough to be in her bed. If he could push and gain her trust, Izaya would be getting in the direction that he needed to go. Mari lowered her eyes to her computer screen.

Outside in the hall, Aya watched them from the door. She sneered as she looked at Izaya's face.

"You can enjoy her all you want," she muttered to herself. "You won't be living long anyway. Aya reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. One quick text later and another part of the game was set into motion.

-Kitano-

Kitano sat at his desk with a blank notepad in front of him. So far, everything in this round and the experiment were going great. Chirin had already came in contact with four tadpoles. Still, it wasn't enough for him.

The first line of defense around Chirin and his friends were down, but that still left the others. The Yellow Scarves were next. However, there was something bigger coming tomorrow. The Woman in Red would be getting her heart back tomorrow. Her heart was the main source of her power. It took so long to locate and without it, their game had to restart so many times in the past. This time, the advantage was theirs. But then, there's Nebula.

Yes, those guys. Only they knew the whole plot of the game. They too remembered everything that had been happening up to this point. This time Shingen had recruited his son to have them have the advantage in this round.

Kitano leaned back in his chair. They would have to think smarter, not harder with that organization. Going up against Nebula for them was like playing chess with a pro. Right now, both sides were waiting for the other to blink. Kitano and Etsuko knew about the little spies from Nebula spying on their beloved tadpoles. Knowing them, it wouldn't be long before they got their hands on one of them and used them to trap Tandeki. Two pawns stood in front of each other in the game. Nebula already moved their first knight on the board. Kitano looked at the pieces that he should move on his turn.

Meanwhile, there was another issue that needed to be planned out for the long run.

Kitano picked up his pen and drew three dots as if to form a square. "Let's see… There's Makoto-san, Michiko-san, and Hya-chan as our players in our game." The psychiatrist narrowed his eyes at the paper.

"Who's going to be player number four?" he asked.

-Etsuko's Interns-

Two young women and two young man sat in the darkened conference room. A young lady with glasses took out her tablet.

"Asato-sensei just sent me Nakahara-sensei's coordinates to find the gate in this city," she said as she pulled up the map. She showed it off to the other three.

"Okay," one of the men said. "So which one is it?"

"It doesn't say yet," she replied. "Our best guess is that it would have to be the Tokyo Hands Building." The intern with the dark hair and glasses looked up. "Is anyone clear on what we need to do next?"

"We find the gate," the other girl said. "And unlock it, right?"

"Find it, yes," the dark-haired girl said. "But we ourselves can't unlock it."

"What do you mean?" the other young man asked. The intern with glasses rose to her feet.

"It has to be opened by a horseman," she said. "Tomorrow, Yui-san, Anna-san, Roc-san, Mei-san, Akihito-san, and I will locate the gate." One of the male interns, Akihito, looked up at her with a puzzled look on his face.

"Wait, why am I going to work tomorrow?" he asked. "Can't I have a day off, Yuzuru-san?" Yuzuru gave him a sharp look.

"Is there a problem?" she asked. Her cold tune made him gulp.

"Yes ma'am," he muttered. Yuzuru pushed up her glasses.

"Good," she said. The intern used her finger to slide away the map. "Any other questions?"

"How will we get rid of the Yellow Scarves?" the other female intern asked.

"They haven't said anything yet," the dark-haired intern replied.

-Etsuko-

Etsuko managed to get away to the basement. She stood in the corner and pulled out her cell phone.

"Hello?" she asked. "I just got your call. Are you on your way right now? Good. You remember how to get to Rampo Biotech, right? Good, I'll be waiting outside for you." The doctor hung up and headed back to the elevator.

-Kaori-

A young woman in black arrived in Ikebukuro at about midnight. She definitely stood out in the crowded street. She had her long black hair tied into two pigtails by black skull ribbons. The young lady held a black parasol above her head while wearing black sunglasses. Her puffy short black dress made swish noises as she walked. The dress collar around her neck and black heeled boots completed her look. She didn't pay any attention at any stares passersby gave her.

On her walk down the street, she bumped into a middle-aged man. He turned as she walked by.

"Excuse you!" he shouted. "Watch where you're going, bitch!" The loli goth girl walked away without a word. When the salaryman started to walk away on his path, he suddenly had a heart attack and collapsed on the sidewalk. The young woman in black smirked to herself as the people rushed over to the dead man's side.

She whistled "O Death" as she arrived at Rampo Biotech. Etsuko stood inches away from her with a small smile on her face.

"You've made it," she said. "Welcome back." The girl removed her sunglasses and smiled like a little angel.


	14. Wedding

Halo Thirteen: Wedding:

Prologue: Woman in Red's Song

She floats in her emptiness.

"I can hear my heart in the gate. I cannot reach it, but the horseman can. I cannot open the gate, but the horseman can. Today, my heart will be reunited with me. When it does, I will have my powers back. Right now, the gate hasn't been found yet. That is going to change. Two women that work for the man who is trying to free will find that gate. They cannot open it. But, they will have a little help in the night."

She lays back in her emptiness.

"As soon as that little caged bird is wed, my heart will return to me." Her quiet laughter floated in the vacant space.

Chapter One: Bride in Mourning

-7:00 a.m.-

Lin Yi stood in front of that full-length red oak mirror in her wedding dress made of old white lace with sore, puffy eyes. She didn't have the strength to cry or feel anymore. Plus, there stood the possibility of being used like a sex slave from the wedding night onwards.

She came back to reality when she heard a knock on her bedroom door.

"Lin Yi!" Katyusha said. "It's time to go." She opened the door and walked the bride out of her bedroom for the wedding in the church downtown. Her soon-to-be sister-in-law clapped her hands.

"You look so beautiful!" she said as her boobs bounced in her light pink dress. Lin Yi forced herself to smile. Katyusha patted her on the head.

"Don't worry," she said. "I'll keep Natalia away from you today." That bit of good news didn't reach her. The Ukrainian woman looked into the bride's room and noticed the clock on the wall.

"Oh no!" she said. "We're going to be late! Come on, we have to get going." Katyusha had to take the bride by the arm and drag her along. Lin Yi didn't make eye contact with her soon-to-be sister-in-law or the driver during the ride to the church. It felt like her soul had let her body. Ivan picked out this date for the wedding. In her mind, it felt like a joke to Lin Yi. She drew her eyes closed in a hopeless attempt to feel something again. Katyusha gently took hold of the bride's hand. Her younger soon-to-be sister-in-law didn't move.

At 8:25 a.m., the car pulled up to the church. Elizabeta flagged them down as the car pulled up into the parking lot. Inside the car, Katyusha shook Lin Yi awake.

"Come on," she whispered. "We have to go. It's time." The bride slowly opened her eyes. The Ukrainian woman frowned.

"Your hair's a mess," she complained. "Oh, we'll have to redo your make-up again." Lin Yi didn't have a chance to get her head together as the busty woman pulled her out of the car. With the help of Elizabeta, the women helped the bride into the back of the church.

Chapter Two: Director's Cut

-February 13th, Midnight-

Aoba's phone buzzed beside his bed. He picked it up and looked at the screen. _Oh great, another e-mail._ However, the subject line caught his attention.

"Blue Squares' Suicides: Director's Cut?" he asked. Right off, he had hoped for something like this to fall into his lap. The boy gritted his teeth. _Show me your face, you bastard! I won't let you get away with this!_ Aoba opened the message. Instead of a link, he got six video attachments. Against his better judgement, the surviving member of the Blue Squares opened each one. He ended up re-watching his fledglings' suicides again, only this time there was a little bit on new footage at the end.

A young woman dressed up as a gothic lolita had the camera pointed at her as she stood over or near the bodies. She grinned and flashed two V-signs before the videos ended. Seeing her face made Aoba grit his teeth. _It was her! She did this! She killed my men!_

Suddenly, his phone buzzed with a new text message. The sender's name was none other than Lady Death. In Aoba's mind, this had to be the same user that made those videos and spread the suicide rumors. Now she wanted to talk to him too? The boy opened the message.

"Meet me at your hideout," it read. Something told Aoba that this had to be a trap, but he wanted to see if he was right about the girl in videos and Lady Death being the same person. The lone shark boy stuffed his phone into his back and headed out of the apartment.

* * *

Lady Death closed her phone, smirking. "Here, little sharky-sharky! Be a good little shark and come to mama!" She lay on the ground, laughing.

Chapter Three: Backstage

The show will start at ten in the morning. The monsters wait outside in anticipation. Jasdevi looked outside at the horny animal trying to get a peek inside. Because of paradise, they had all the power. Devit turned to his younger brother.

"Go get the girls ready," he said.

"Right," Jasdero said. He dashed back towards the club. The younger twin walked up the stairs and curved to the back of the stage. Most of the angels looked subdued from the jasmine perfume. Marion gave him a cold glare as she held Alma close enough for her to heal her heart beating. Jasdero looked like a creepy jack-in-the-box when he grinned.

"Hello, ladies," he said. "How are you this morning?" The monster didn't even wait for an answer. Instead, he his attention went over to two newer angels in the back. Ophelia's face was done up like her days as a prostitute when she was human. She looked like she was going to throw up as she only had on a collar around her neck. Beside her sat Allen with a collar and leash around his neck. He wasn't sure exactly why he was here. Jasdero had his eyes locked on Allen.

"This is going to be an interesting show," he muttered to himself. He looked over at the clock on the back wall. By now, Devit should be unlocking the doors.

Five… Four… Three… Two…

Outside at the front doors, Devit unlocked the doors and backed away as the monsters all flooded the auditorium.

Chapter Four: Bridal Party

The women of the bridal party had two jobs to do: tend to the bride and keep Natalia away from the bride.

Vietnam and Laura guarded the door. Seychelles and Katyusha all touched-up the bride in the dressing room. So far, there was no sign of Natalia anywhere. That could both be a good thing and a bad thing. Everyone kept their eyes out. Katyusha drew back her make-up brush.

"Perfect," she said. "You look so much better." Seychelles adjusted the white flowers in the bride's hair. They didn't dare to leave her side.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ivan and his party already arrived at the church. The groom wore a nice gray suite with a black bowtie. Toris, Eduard, and Raivis were forced to be his groomsmen. Ivan looked at his pocket watch. He didn't really pay any attention to the guests as they walked in and took their seats. To be honest, the groom didn't expect all of this to go through like it had. Yao tried to stay out of sight ever since he dropped off Lin Yi and Wang Ja at the Russian man's house. From what Ivan knew, the Asian siblings weren't speaking to each other since the agreement came to light. Would they even come to the wedding?

Behind Ivan, the minister straightened up his robes. "Do you need me to go over everything one more time, sir?" The groom waved him off. The middle-aged minister puffed up his cheeks and breathed out.

"Okay then," he said. Even some of the guests could sense the thick uneasy tense in the church.

* * *

Meanwhile, Wang Ja was in the kitchen with the catering staff. The young man may have looked fancy and dressed up in his uniform, but inside was ugly. He glared as he chopped up vegetables. The butler was plotting on a way to void the marriage and contract. With each chop, the details began to fit together in his head. The only element he was missing the timing. If he could slip out of the kitchen and get to his little sister unnoticed…

"Wang Ja!" the head chef yelled. "I need you over here!" The Hong Kong turned with a big, fake smile on his face.

"Yes sir," he said. For now, Wang Ja would smile and act cheerful.

The wedding began at noon.

Chapter Five: Tiresias

Around the same time Aoba got the e-mail and text, a woman wandered through the empty streets of Ikebukuro. She had to use a silver-white cane to guide herself around. Her thin black sunglasses hid her eyes. This woman was in search of something tonight.

"Not here," she said to herself. "Not here. Not here." The woman frowned as froze in her tracks. She didn't have much time before the Woman in Red got her heart back. On top of that, she had something more pressing breathing down her next. The woman placed her hand to her chest and tried to feel around for a pulse in the city.

Suddenly, she jerked her head upwards. "Who's there?" Footsteps dragged over to where she stood. Her nose curled at the scent of heavy sake filling her space.

"Hey, honey!" a man slurred out. "You look lonely. Want some company?" The woman frowned as she tried to move away from towards the building she stood next to.

"No thank you," she said blindly. She tried to walk away, but the man grabbed her by her free arm.

"Bitch, I'm not done talking to you!" he shouted.

"I don't have time. I'm in a hurry. If I don't move now, this city will burn."

"Huh? Are you crazy, lady?"

"I'm serious. You and everyone else in Ikebukuro will die if she is set free."

"What the hell are you talking about? And what's with those shades?"

The woman froze as his hand grabbed onto her sunglasses. "No! Don't do that!" The drunken man took off her sunglasses. When he saw her eyes, he dropped them on the pavement.

"What… What the hell are you?!"

The woman sighed. "I tried to warn you, sir." The man turned around and ran away, screaming. When she was alone, she used her foot to find her sunglasses. Her cane was used as support as she bent down to pick them up. Because of that encounter, Tandeki and the Woman in Red may have gotten a lead on their plans. After she put her shades back on her eyes, she placed her hand to her chest and listened in for a pulse. A jolt shot through her body.

"There!" she shouted. The woman held up her free hand in the air and vanished in a flash.

Chapter Six: Saving Saki

-Thirteen Hours into the Experiment-

"This apartment isn't big enough for eight people," Mikado said as he looked in the darkness at the six girls all asleep on the floor. (He resisted saying, "nine". Half of the room couldn't see Taiyou anyway. Then again, Mikado wasn't sure if he could label that glaring man a "person" just yet.) Masaomi rested his head on his best friend's shoulder.

"It's fine," he said. "I never thought that we would be surrounded by cute girls just before Valentine's Day. It's like a dream." Mikado had his eyes on the two newer younger girls that joined him hours earlier.

-Five Hours and Thirty-Two Minutes into the Experiments-

Outside of his apartment, Mikado happened to look up and see two girls about Emily's age staring at him from across the street.

_How long have they been there? Are they… like me?_ The boy covered up his right eye. The girl on the left with dark brown hair tugged on the coat sleeves of the girl on the right and pointed towards him. Mikado about fell back in the snow.

_They are like me!_ The founder of the Dollars leapt to his feet and dashed across to those girls with the unease looks on their faces. Despite that, they didn't run away.

"Hey!" Mikado shouted. He caught up to the girls and stopped for a breather. When he stood up, he got a better look at them. The dark-haired girl stared at him with big amber eyes. She held her bright pink coat to her body. A brown scarf made her neck disappear. The other girl had reddish-orange hair to her shoulders. Her coat was brown and she wore little yellow clips in her bangs.

"What?" the girl with the reddish-orange hair asked. Mikado struggled in his head to find the words at first.

"Have you two been following me?" he asked.

"What?" the orange-haired girl asked again. Her dark-haired friend lowered her eyes.

"Yes," she said in a quiet voice.

"But why?" Mikado asked. The girls looked at each nervous.

"Well…" the dark-haired one began to say.

"We saw you suffering with your eye patch on!" her friend shouted. Mikado rubbed on his left ear.

"Gah! You don't have to yell," he said.

"What?" reddish-orange hair asked. Her friend bowed her head.

"You'll have to excuse her," she said. "She can't hear at all and she's still trying to read lips to understand what people are saying."

"So you're…" Mikado began to ask.

"Yes," both girls said. The boy wasn't ready to relax just yet.

"Did you get a call or a text this morning?" he asked.

"Yes."

"What numbers did you get?

The deaf girl pulled out her phone and showed him the text that Kitano sent her. Mikado read the message on the screen.

"Two?" he asked. The founder of the Dollars turned his attention to the other girl. "What about you?"

"Six," she replied. The three newly-acquainted tadpoles stared at each, daring the other to make the next step. Could they trust each other? So far, Mikado met one tadpole that he could turn into his ally. It wouldn't hurt to have two more.

"I'm Ryugamine Mikado," the older boy spoke up. "What are your names?"

"Kimio Kohaku," the hearing girl said. "This is Shono Nami." The deaf girl waved at their potential new ally.

-Now-

Nami and Kohaku looked like little dolls leaned up against each other sound asleep. Masaomi nudged Mikado in the side.

"You managed to get three girls over to your place," he said. His friend found himself rather put off by his cheeky tone.

"It's not like that," Mikado said. He couldn't bring himself to explain the whole situation to Masaomi. These tadpole girls were just starting to trust his friends. The first trip out while using his powers overwhelmed him. Explaining to Masaomi and the normal girls what his powers were would just be…

"How is Mikajima-san doing?" Mikado asked out of the blue. Masaomi looked at him with a blank stare.

"She's doing fine," he said in a low voice. Mikado took hold of his hand.

"We will do everything to keep her safe," he said.

"What are you talking about?"

"I saw your pain."

"Mikado, I don't understand you."

"I know you are scared that she's going to die. Don't worry, we won't let that happen."

Masaomi drew back his hands. "You're creeping me out." The Yellow Scarves leader hadn't told anyone about Saki. He had been calling his girlfriend every day to see if she was still alive. Masaomi used his jokes and flirting with other girls to hide his fears.

"She's going to die tomorrow, isn't she?" Mikado asked. "You've had the date circled in your phone. You're starting to remember her dying, aren't you?"

"How do you-?" Masaomi asked, trembling. The other boy turned and looked him in the eye.

"Do you promise not to freak out if I tell?" he asked.

"Mikado, what are you-?"

"Do you promise not to freak out if I tell? Answer me. I have to know before we go any further with this."

His friend closed his mouth and lowered his eyes. "Alright."

"Good." Mikado closed his eyes. "I will tell you everything after we save Saki tomorrow." The tadpole boy lay on his floor and went to sleep. Masaomi was left sitting there staring at his best friend with a sense of dread.

Chapter Seven: The Stud

At ten a.m., the thick purple curtains went up.

The monsters howled and shouted like wild animals. Road sat near the stage, frowning. She sat back and frowned her arms across her chest. _This better work_ , she thought. Jasdevi causally walked on stage.

"Welcome, welcome, welcome!" they said. "Thank you so much for joining our Fifteenth Annual Floor Show! We have a treat for you today! Here are the lovely ladies!" They moved aside as the heavy, pounding sexy music started to play. The naked and half-naked angels were paraded out on stage. Marion sneered as the monsters' howling and shouts grew louder. She grabbed Alma by the hand.

"Stay by me, okay?" she whispered. The tan-skinned angel nodded as she whimpered. The angels were turned to face their perverted audience. The monsters' faces were obscured by the bright hot lights. Jasdevi counted down the beat as the last female angel came onto the stage. The twins walked in front of them.

"Take a look at all of the lovely ladies," they said. "I bet you want to do nasty things to them right away. We will get to that really soon. But first, we have a special treat for you this year. Meet our stud will be out for a test ride of one of our lucky ladies!" The crowd of hot-blooded males sat confused as the twins and angels moved aside. Road perked up when the music changed.

Allen was dragged out to centerstage by his low silver leash. It didn't take him long to figure what Road and Jasdevi were planning for in this disgusting floor show.

Chapter Eight: Aoba VS. Kaori

Kaori was about to doze off when she heard footsteps. She opened one eye to see a blue-haired boy standing over her.

"You Lady Death?" Aoba asked.

"Depends on who's asking," the young woman in black replied.

"Did you make those videos of my guys killing themselves?" he asked. Kaori smiled and opened her eyes. She leapt up to her feet as quick as a ninja.

"Oh good, you got my messages, Aoba-kun," she said.

"Wait, how do you know my name?"

"We've met before."

"No we haven't."

"Yes we have, but that's neither here nor there. Anyway, you have questions for me. Go ahead, ask away." Something about her perky tone and smile sent shivers down Aoba's face. She may have been right about them meeting before. However, he shook that from his head

"Did you kill my gang?" he asked.

"Yes," Kaori replied without missing a beat. Aoba about stumbled backwards. She answered just like that. Part of him expected her to jerk him around before he showed her the evidence on his phone.

"Why?" he asked. Kaori flipped back her ponytail.

"You're in the way," she said.

"What?"

"You see, boss man wants Chirin-tan all to himself for his game. You insects are annoying to him. Mama sent on a shark-hunt because of it." Kaori giggled as she twirled around with her parasol.

"They were so easy to pick off one by one. Sadly, one of boss-man's pets got loose and ate one of them on Christmas." She made a cute little pouting face before smiling again.

"But, it also took attention off of me so that I could do my work. The one with glasses was my first. He folded under my spell with one little kiss. That's right, I killed them all with one kiss." Kaori looked and saw Aoba staring at her with big eyes.

"Aw, why do you look so scared?" she asked. "I'm only getting started with the story. Or do you want me to stop?"

"No," the young gangster said.

"Very well," Kaori said. "Where was I? Oh yes, my kiss was enough to get inside their minds and kill them. The one with glasses thought I was cute before I kissed him. I decided rather than you hearing about it on the news first, I would post each of their deaths on Deathvine." She chuckled.

"The creators should be thanking me for making their site so popular in these past few months. Anyway, I wanted to rouse the living fear in you and your little friends. So, I whipped out my camera and made them stars in their own snuff films." Kaori pulled out her black mini-camcorder and turned it on.

"The one with glasses went first. Then the blonde spikey-haired guy. Next of my targets was the one with hair over his eye." For a second, Aoba could've sworn that Kaori looked rather agitated in her smile before turning back to being cheerful.

"Ah yes, him. That one didn't start out as I had planned. When I went to kiss him, he smacked me away and put up quite a resistance. He scratched my face because of it." She took her finger and traced a line under her right eye. "I had to really punish him for that."

"That's why you had him writing all of those words on the bathroom wall," Aoba said.

"Pi-pon-Pi-pon!" Kaori said. "To wrap this little story up, I took out the twins next. I hadn't expected to use up my special lipstick for my kisses that night, but it was worth it. I saved the little kitty one for last, of course. And now here we are."

"Oh what, are you going to kill me too?" Aoba asked.

"Nah," she said. The blue-haired boy stared at her confused.

"Why? Would I be your trophy-kill? You kill me and the Blue Squares are finished."

"Yeah, but mama made me promise to let that nurse lady have her fun with you."

"Nurse lady… Wait, you don't mean…?"

"Pi-pon-Pi-pon!"

Aoba began to get rather confused and annoyed. "So why did you call me out here?"

"To cut your ties with Chirin-tan."

"Who the hell is Chirin?"

"That doesn't matter." Kaori broke into a smirk. "If you thought what I did to your little friends was awful, think of what I can do to the Orihara twins!"

Something in Aoba's mind snapped. "You better not."

"Wouldn't it be divine. I can see it now. A beautiful double-suicide for all of Deathvine and Ikebukuro to see!"

The blue-haired boy ran over and grabbed Kaori by the throat. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" The young woman in black smirked and pushed him off. She took off running outside.

"Come back here!" Aoba shouted before running after her. Kaori did her best not to giggle when she saw three thugs walking by. Not her first choice for this plan, but they looked strong enough.

"Help!" she screamed, waving her arms up and down. "He's after me! He's trying to kill me!" The three men in the twenties stopped as Kaori ran towards them. She hid behind one of them as Aoba got closer.

"He's gone crazy!" she whimpered. "He's trying to kill me." Kaori slipped a quick kiss on the man's neck. His eyes glowed black as she got the other two on the hands. Aoba froze as the three men walked zombie-like towards him.

"So you like killing chicks, huh?" the main guy asked. Aoba stared at him.

"What are you talking about?" he asked. Kaori stood back as the beat down took place.

Chapter Nine: Tokyo Hands Gate Opens to Slavery and Vows

-Valentine's Day, 3:00 a.m.-

-Ikebukuro-

Yui and Yuzuru stood in front of the Tokyo Hands building. Yui turned to her temporary partner.

"You sure this is the first gate?" she asked.

"Yes," Yuzuru said, pushing her glasses up on her nose. "The other parties said that their crystals didn't react to the potential gates. So, it has to be this one." She pulled out a small light blue crystal on a black string and held out to the doors. The charm floated and glowed a soft, hazy glow.

"Bingo!" Yui said. She looked at her partner. "Now what?"

"We need a horseman to unlock it," Yuzuru replied.

"And where do we get that?" the other intern asked.

"Need some help?" a third female voice asked. The interns looked up to see a familiar face.

"Oh," Yuzuru said.

"Hi there," Yui said. "When did you get in town?"

"Just now," the girl's voice answered. "Is this the gate?"

"Uh-huh," Yui said, swishing her long brown ponytail.

"Allow me," the third female said. She stepped forward and pressed her hand against the glass doors. A giant red hole opened and a loud white noise filled the air. The interns took steps back as the noise grew louder. A giant light swallowed the whole city. Everything became silent for ten seconds before the light disappeared. Yui turned to her temporary partner.

"Now what?" she asked. The black-haired intern put her arms behind her head.

"We wait," she said.

-Valentine's Day, 10:45 a.m.-

-Fallen City-

Road whistled at Allen as he stood in only leather pants and his leash and collar. Fantasies danced in her head as Jasdevi took the microphone again.

"This year, the stud will fuck one of these lovely ladies right here on stage!" they announced. Allen, Marion, Alma, and Ophelia looked up with such a jolt. The other monsters sat in confused silence.

"Come on," Jasdevi said. "This will be fun! In fact, we will pick the first girl." The twins turned to the lovely angels standing behind them. Their eyes scanned through the crowd. Ophelia bit her lower lip as she stepped back. Unfortunately, the Jasdevi spotted her with her big red feathers in her hair.

"Yes!" they shouted. "You will do just perfectly!" Devit grabbed Ophelia by the arm and threw her face down onto the stage. Jasdero grabbed Allen by the leash and pulled him over to the other angel.

"Now, do it!" the twins shouted. "Fuck this lovely angel so hard that she's sore!" Allen was about to say no when Aizen bit down in his brain stem. His pupils dilated as he began to breathe heavily. Ophelia looked up like a cornered animal.

"No…" she said in a soft voice. Devit pushed his head forward.

-Valentine's Day, noon-

Elizabeta and Katsuya had to walk Lin Yi down the aisle. The bride looked like she would throw up as the guests rose to their feet. Ivan broke into a polite smile as the young girl walked closer. Lin Yi stood next to her soon-to-be husband.

"You look beautiful," he whispered in her ear. The priest cleared his throat.

"Dearly beloved," he said. "We are gathered here today to witness the union between Lin Yi Ling and Ivan Braginski." The bride lowered her eyes as the ceremony kicked off. Her head felt like it was floating away. Ivan slipped a gold ringer onto Lin Yi's finger. She did the same for him. Her hands looked so little compared to his. Ivan did his best to say his vows in her native Chinese. The guests could barely hear Lin Yi as she spoke her vows to her groom.

"Do you, Ivan Braginski, take Lin Yi Ling to be your lawfully-wed wife to love and honor in sickness and health, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, 'til death do us part."

"I do," the Russian man said.

"Do you, Lin Yi Ling, take Ivan Braginski to be your lawfully-wed husband to love and honor in sickness and health, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, 'til death do us part."

"I do," the Taiwanese woman said in a small voice. The priest closed his bible.

"I now pronounce you man and wife," he said. "You may now kiss the bride." Ivan gave new bride a quick kiss on the lips.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the priest said. "I present to you the new Mr. and Mrs. Braginski." Ivan clutched Lin Yi's hand tightly, but even that couldn't bring her out of her growing misery spell.

Chapter Ten: Wedding Reception

The reception was held at five o'clock. Through the wedding photos, Lin Ying looked hollow. Her make-up and lace couldn't hide that she now fully belonged to Ivan. They still had one more step to make it complete. For now, they had the party to celebrate.

Wang Ja watched his sister from the other side of the room. She wasn't crying for now, but the light that she had in her soul was almost snuffed out. The bride barely looked up from her plate. Wang Ja clenched his fists at his side. _Don't worry, little sister. I will get us out of this and then we will run somewhere far, far away where they can't touch us. Hang in there._

Natalia glared at her rival from her table as well. For years, she tried to get Ivan's love and affection. Now, this little whore came along and stole her precious brother. Natalia bent her spoon in half. Nobody steals her brother and gets away with it. Lin Yi would have to go! The Belarusian woman's nostrils flared as she began plotting murder again. She glared to her right when a hand rested on her shoulder. Laura shook her head.

"Let it go, Natalia," she whispered. "It's not worth it." Natalia flipped her off before making the toast to the "happy" couple. The party would go on until about ten o'clock at night. In the middle of all of this, there was still one more person feeling the effects of this union between Russia and Taiwan.

In the back, Kiku held his hand to his chest and took in slow breaths. Ever since this morning, he heard this soft thumping in his head. It grew louder and made his head hurt as the day wore on. It reached its peak when Ivan and Lin Yi signed the marriage certificate. Now, it didn't level off. In fact, it grew worse. Only Kiku knew what this all met. Sena poked him in the arm.

"Dear?" she asked. "Dear? What's the matter?" The Japanese man shook his head.

"It's nothing," he lied. Kiku got up and walked outside. The sky looked thick and black tonight. Weather forecasts had been calling for rain this weekend. But, Kiku was worried about another storm heading for the countries. This wedding showed him that this was part of her plan to get her heart back.

Now, that dreaded Woman in Red had all of her powers back. It wouldn't be long before she was free and roaming the living world bringing it to its ruin.

For now, Ivan and his new bride would eat, drink, and party the night away.

Chapter Nine: Tokyo Hands Gate Opens to Slavery and Vows

Chapter Ten: Wedding Reception

The excitement settle into the dust.

The reception was held at five o'clock. Through the wedding photos, Lin Ying looked hollow. Her make-up and lace couldn't hide that she now fully belonged to Ivan. They still had one more step to make it complete. For now, they had the party to celebrate.

Wang Ja watched his sister from the other side of the room. She wasn't crying for now, but the light that she had in her soul was almost snuffed out. The bride barely looked up from her plate. Wang Ja clenched his fists at his side. _Don't worry, little sister. I will get us out of this and then we will run somewhere far, far away where they can't touch us. Hang in there._

Natalia glared at her rival from her table as well. For years, she tried to get Ivan's love and affection. Now, this little whore came along and stole her precious brother. Natalia bent her spoon in half. Nobody steals her brother and gets away with it. Lin Yi would have to go! The Belarusian woman's nostrils flared as she began plotting murder again. She glared to her right when a hand rested on her shoulder. Laura shook her head.

"Let it go, Natalia," she whispered. "It's not worth it." Natalia flipped her off before making the toast to the "happy" couple. The party would go on until about ten o'clock at night. In the middle of all of this, there was still one more person feeling the effects of this union between Russia and Taiwan.

In the back, Kiku held his hand to his chest and took in slow breaths. Ever since this morning, he heard this soft thumping in his head. It grew louder and made his head hurt as the day wore on. It reached its peak when Ivan and Lin Yi signed the marriage certificate. Now, it didn't level off. In fact, it grew worse. Only Kiku knew what this all met. Sena poked him in the arm.

"Dear?" she asked. "Dear? What's the matter?" The Japanese man shook his head.

"It's nothing," he lied. Kiku got up and walked outside. The sky looked thick and black tonight. Weather forecasts had been calling for rain this weekend. But, Kiku was worried about another storm heading for the countries. This wedding showed him that this was part of her plan to get her heart back.

Now, that dreaded Woman in Red had all of her powers back. It wouldn't be long before she was free and roaming the living world bringing it to its ruin.

For now, Ivan and his new bride would eat, drink, and party the night away.

Chapter Eleven: Worry

-February 15th, 3:00 a.m.-

Mari awoke in a bed, staring at the ceiling in a daze.

"I have to get home," she muttered. "I have to get home because I have to work. I probably won't get time to make my lunch. Maybe I could buy something from the cafeteria. Yeah, I could buy something from the cafeteria. If I left now, I probably could make it back in time. Nobody should be out at this time of morning, right? I could just leave here and walk home. My place shouldn't be too far from here, right? I could use make-up to cover up the hickeys on my neck. I just have to get home now."

"What are you talking?" Izaya asked next to her. Mari shook her head.

"Just…" she said.

"What?" he asked. She already knew that the gate's been opened and the rest of round two had been set into motion. Maybe she would still have time to push Izaya away. The information broker went back to sleep with his arm over her body. She tried to push him.

"I have to get home," she said to herself. "I have to get home."

Chapter Twelve: Final Cut

Etsuko stood in the supply closet of Raira Medical University Hospital.

"Souls go to the Underworld after death," she said. "There are five rivers in the Underworld. The Styx leads souls to the Underworld itself. The Acheron is known as the River of Woe. The Phlegethon is the river of five. The Cocytus is the River of Wailing. Finally, there is the Lethe, the river of forgetfulness. Those who drink from the Lethe experience complete forgetfulness."

-Valentine's Day, 5:15 p.m.-

Mikado had heard about Aoba getting attacked in the early morning hours. A prostitute and her john found the boy lying half-beaten on the ground. She called the ambulance and Aoba ended up in Raira Medical University Hospital.

For most of the school, Mikado couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt of what happened to his kouhai. However, another thought crossed his mind. This led him to march over to the nurse's office and pound on the door. Junko opened up and noticed the boy coldly eyeing her.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Is this what you meant by Kuronuma not having long to live?" he asked. "What did you do to him?" At first, the nurse looked confused.

"What?" she asked.

"Don't play dumb with me," Mikado said in a quiet voice. "You did something to him. You can't tell me that you don't know that he was beaten so bad that he ended up in the hospital." It took the nurse a few seconds to catch on.

"Oh!" she said. "I heard about that on the news this morning."

"Did you have something to do with it? Did you?"

Junko batted her long eyelashes at him. "Me personally, no. Let's just say that he had a little brush with death. Oh and it's would be pointless to go and see him."

"And why is that?"

Junko gave him an innocent shrug. "It just is." Mikado turned around and headed back to class.

After school, Mikado stopped by the hospital. Aoba was going to be fine. He was most likely to get out the next morning. The founder of the Dollars was relied, but had no idea how long this feeling would last. He stopped at the flower shop on the way to the hospital. Mikado made it to Room 119 and knocked on the door.

"Come in," a groggy voice grumbled. Mikado pushed open the door and slowly walked inside. Aoba sat up in bed all bandaged up and bruised. Mikado tried to shake Junko's voice from his head.

"Are you okay, Aoba?" he asked. "I am so sorry for this. I can't help but feel that this is all my fault." The younger boy stared tilted his head, blinking.

"I'm sorry, but who you are?" he asked. Mikado's eyes grew wide.

"What?" he asked.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" Aoba asked. "How do you even know my name?"

"Aoba, it's me, Ryugamine Mikado. You asked me to become the leader of the Blue Squares. We even made a contract about it."

"What are you talking about?" the younger boy asked. "Are you stalking me or something?" The flowers hit the floor.

-Hours Earlier-

Etsuko snuck into Aoba's room as he slept. She stood over the injured boy as she reached into her coat pocket and pulled out syringe of bright yellow liquid.

"The Lethe, the river of forgetfulness. Those who drink from the Lethe experience complete forgetfulness," she said in a low voice. Her fingers felt along Aoba's arm until she found a vein. She cleaned the skin and injected the boy with the bright yellow liquid. The doctor put the empty syringe in her pocket.

"Kuronuma Aoba has taken a drink from the Lethe," she said. "And with that, Chirin's final tie to the Blue Squares has been cut." For safe measure, the doctor found Aoba's phone and deleted any evidence that he met with Kaori in earlier that morning and any trace of Mikado through his number and text messages. After that, Etsuko turned and walked back to doing her rounds.

* * *

-745: p.m.-

Masaomi pulled out his cell phone and dialed up Saki.

"Hi, it's me," her voice mail said. "Let a message and I'll call you back when I can." Masaomi's stomach turned after the beep.

"Saki-chan," he said. "Hey, it's me. Listen, please don't go anywhere tonight. Don't answer the door. Keep the windows locked. Don't answer the phone unless it is me. Please don't ask what's going on, just do it. I will call you in the morning. I love you, goodbye." Masaomi hung up, looking so pale. He hoped that his words had reached her in time.

Chapter Thirteen: Wedding Night

-Eight Hours Before That-

Lin Yi sat on the big four poster bed of red silk sheets. She had graduated to Ivan's master bedroom. This was the part that she dreaded. What kind of sexual misadventure would her new husband drag her into? Lin Yi didn't want to look at what kind of sex toys that he had. She tried not to think about asking about the sex dungeon rumors. The young bride would have to distract herself to make it through this consummation. Already, her stomach began to ache from dinner and all of the crying. She looked at her stuffy wedding dress sitting on the chair in the corner of the room.

Lin Yi about jumped when she heard the door open. Ivan stood in the doorway, untying his bowtie.

"Waiting long?" he asked. His new bride shook her head. She looked so pale. Instinct told her new husband that he should probably be gentle tonight.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Lin Yi nodded, looking away. Ivan sat down on the bed next to her and turned her face towards to him. Her eyes looked so big and hollow.

"There, there," the Russian man whispered. He leaned in and kissed her on the lips. Lin Yi froze as her stomach turned. Ivan pulled away and stared into her eyes.

"I won't do anything you won't like, da," he whispered. "I promised Yao that I would take go care of you and your brother." Yao. Being reminded of that traitor didn't help. Lin Yi's eyes welled up with tears. Ivan leaned in and kissed her on the lips. This time, he gently wrestled her down to the bed. His mouth didn't stray from hers.

"Is this your first time?" he asked. The bride nodded.

"Alright," he said. His hand moved down to her lacy cream-colored gown. She wasn't busty, but she was still cute. Ivan moved down to her throat and kissed her on the neck. He was about to go down further when he heard gulping. The Russian looked up to see Lin Yi looking so pale.

"What's the matter?" he asked. Lin Yi began gulping and taking in heavy breaths.

"I… I can't do this!" she said. The bride pushed him off and rushed to the bathroom. Ivan sat up on the bed, tilting his head.

"Lin Yi?" he asked. Vomiting erupted in the air. Her husband ran so the bathroom door. He pressed his ear to the door and he knocked.

"Are you okay in there?" he asked.

"No!" Lin Yi cried as more vomiting followed. Finally, sobbing came from the bathroom. Ivan sat down on the bedroom floor, waiting for her until it became quiet. A few minutes passed and the Russian man opened the door. He found the bride laying on her side on the bathroom floor. She didn't move or clean her face. Everything she had left looked like it had died. With a heavy heart, Ivan picked her up off the floor and washed the dried vomit from around her mouth.

"I wish there was something I could do to make you happy," he whispered. "I'll give you some time to adjust."

He ended up putting her to bed and sleeping in another room in the house.

Coda: Woman in Red's Song

The Woman in Red rose to her feet in her emptiness.

"My heart has returned to me. My powers have come back to me. Now, it's time for me be free. I will be free."


	15. Kaori

Halo Fourteen: Kaori:

-Etsuko-

I first met Kaori back in 1991.

A deadly typhoon hit us that year. I was called to Nagasaki to help aid the victims with medical attention. The doctors in the city were swamped at the time. My team ended up on Tsushima Island on the first day. I remember being out in the woods when I met her.

Three other doctors and myself were tasked with looking for people that might have been injured or killed in the storm. We each separated to cover more ground. I took the path south. So far, there wasn't a soul in sight. I couldn't even hear any animals around me.

"This is creepy," I said to myself. I spent about three hours walking around in the woods. At one point, I decided to stop for a break. I sat down on a large stone and took a sip of my cold tea. Suddenly, I heard a small moaning noise in the distance.

"Hm?" I asked. I set down my thermos and walked over for a better look. In a small clearing of thick moss, I found a little girl lying on her back next to the body of a man. She looked about five years old with long black hair. Her nightgown was soaked from last night's rain. The poor thing kicked about and struggled as if trying to up. The body next to her looked like to be about middle-aged.

I stared at this little girl rather curious. The poor thing really couldn't get up.

"You okay?" I asked. That little girl started at me with big eyes. Judging by the look on her face, I don't think she understood me.

"Are you hurt?" I asked. No response from the child as she lay there staring up at me. Something inside of me wouldn't let me leave her there. I am a doctor, after all. We are sworn to protect the sick and needy. So, I convinced the child to leave behind the dead weight she was lying beside and come with me. She didn't seem to want to leave him for some reason. I had to scoop her up and carry her along with me. One of my colleagues found us as I was walking away.

"Find anyone?" he asked.

"Uh… yeah, her," I said, holding up the child. "And there's a dead body back there."

"Right, get her to the boat," my colleague said. "The generator in the hospital is broken and the others are flooded so bad."

"Alright," I said. That little girl wouldn't leave my side even on the boat. She even fell asleep in my arms at one point. I couldn't take my eyes off of this child. She looked so innocent in my arms. I wondered why she couldn't get up or talk. How long has she been out there in the woods? Who was that dead man with her? What were they during in the woods in the first place? Maybe she had some relatives in Tokyo that could take her.

"You're going to be okay," I whispered. I didn't expect to be the one to take care of her.

That little girl wouldn't let anyone touch her when we reached the hospital in Ikebukuro. When the doctors tried to exam her, she would kick, scream and bite. My boss had to call me in to do a proper examine her.

"But I'm a general doctor," I said. "You need a pediatrician for her."

"She won't let anyone near her," my boss explained. "You're the only one she seems to trust." I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"Fine, I'll give her a look," I said. I followed my boss down the hall. We found that child lying on her back on the examination table. She seemed to perk up when she saw me.

"Hey there," I said in a soft voice as I approached her. "Why are you giving these new doctors trouble, huh?" I sat that strange child up and flashed my light in her eyes. Her eyes were so red that I thought I was staring into little pools of blood. Aside from her lack of developmental skills and the color of her eyes, she appeared to be in good health.

* * *

That child stayed in the hospital for six weeks and nobody came to claim her. There wasn't much information about her either. She didn't seem to have any known relatives living or dead in Japan. She couldn't tell us what her name was because she couldn't talk. That little girl was like a baby in a five-year-old's body. Before long, I ended up taking her home with me.

Things took turn for us when I bathed her on the first night she came to live with me. As I started washing her back, I noticed a strange black mark just below her neck. At first, I tried to make out what I was looking at. It donned on me that I was staring at the kanji for "death" tattooed on this little girl's back. Nobody at my hospital caught this? I didn't notice this when I was examining her weeks earlier? Did it just appear?

Instead of contacting my hospital, I dashed across the hall to my office and returned with my polaroid camera. I snapped six pictures of the child's mark before dressing her and taking her with me to Kitano's apartment. My partner looked at the polaroid photos and then the little girl.

"Well, what are we looking at?" I asked. Kitano looked up at me grinning like a fox.

"You have a lucky find here," he said.

"What do you mean?" I asked. Kitano shoved the photos into a red file.

"You will see, all in due time," he replied. "Right now, take good care of her. Raise her right and you will come to understand her true nature." He handed me a book about apocalypse mythology.

"This will give you all of the answer that you need," Kitano told me.

For five days, I read that thick, brown book about apocalypse from cover to cover. I didn't understand why my partner was so fascinated with this stuff. I myself didn't think about that sort of thing. By day three, however, I found myself sucked in and reading each part over and over. I still didn't understand why Kitano loved this mythology so much, but I had a bit of an understanding. When I reread the section on the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse, something inside of me began to click. Their names, war, famine, pestilence, and death, drew me to one conclusion as I looked at that little girl laying on the floor of her room.

So this is what he meant. I realized what I had to do next.

First, I decided to give that little girl a name. For some reason, I thought back to my earlier years when I looked at her face while bathing that little child. If I had a daughter, I wanted to name her Kaori. The longer I looked into her deep red eyes, the more I thought about "Kaori" for her.

"Kaori," I said. Those little eyes began to perk up with curiosity.

"You like that, huh?" I asked. She bounced in my lap, squealing.

"Well okay then," I said, smiling. "You will be known as Kaori from now on." After naming her, I taught Kaori how to walk, talk, use the toilet, eat solid food, wash, dress, and feed herself. To my relief, she was quick to learn. Once I got her caught up on her developmental skills, I taught her what she really needed to know to fulfill her role.

I only taught her about different weapons and methods of killing people. Kaori picked up her powers and the rest all by herself.

Today, Kaori looked at me, tilting her head as I stared at her longingly.

"Do I have something on my face?" she asked. I shook my head.

"No," I said. "I was just remembering the past."

"You're weird sometimes, mama," Kaori said. I pat her on the head. _Maybe I am._

-Etsuko, Junko, and Aya-

"Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew!" Junko shouted as she flicked blue game pieces off of her board across the room. Aya gritted her teeth.

"Cut it out!" she snapped. The nurse smiled to herself as she pushed the last blue game piece away from the other blue piece trapped in the glass tube.

"Enough of the games," Etsuko said. "We have to talk business now."

"Yeah, yeah," Junko said.

"You sure it's a good idea to leave that kid alone?" Aya asked. "Kuronuma is not someone we can take lightly. I mean, sure you erased his memories of Ryugamine-kun, but how long will that hold and how can we be sure he won't try to pull something to under mind us?" Etsuko glared at the psychiatrist woman.

"I made the Lethe drug really strong this time," she said. "And used six spell strips to make it hold."

"Okay…" Aya said.

"Besides, that brat is mine," Junko growled. "He's been a bane in my existence for many loops now." She breathed heavily. "I just want one chance to torture the little shite and make him beg for a quicker death."

"And you will get the chance, but we have more pressing matters at the moment," the doctor cut in.

"The Yellow Scarves?" the nurse asked.

"Correct."

"And… do you have a plan for that? Why aren't we taking out Kida's little girlfriend too?"

"All in due time. All in due time. We have to focus on one thing at a time."

"So what is your plan?" Aya asked.

"The horsemen are coming," Etsuko replied. "Kaori's little sister agreed to take care of Kida's little gang."

"Oh! Good choice."

"She made it into the city this morning too."

"Nice." Junko turned to Aya. "Now Aya-san has to deal with her Izaya problem." The psychiatrist woman glared at her.

"Shut your mouth," she hissed. Etsuko tilted her head.

"What Orihara problem?" she asked. Aya sneered as Junko broke out into a cat-like grin.

"Oh, it's just that Izaya has Aya's daughter running to him with open arms _and_ legs."

"Shut your whore mouth!" the psychiatrist shouted. Etsuko cleared her throat and both women went quiet.

"Now," the doctor said. "Let's focus back on the Yellow Scarves."

-Tadpoles-

Ever since the first gate opened, the tadpoles started to regain more memories. Kohaku sat next to Mikado on the floor of his apartment. Like him, she couldn't sense ours of their kind. She clung to the older tadpole's arm.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"I'm starting to have nightmares," Kohaku said in a low voice.

"About Chou Mori?" Mikado asked. She nodded once.

"Are your memories coming back?"

"Yeah." She pulled her knees to her chest. Mikado understood what she felt.

"Try to think about something else."

The younger girl glanced up at him. "Like what?"

"I don't know, something." The founder of the Dollars paused as something crossed his mind. "I can see people's inner demons. What can you do?"

Kohaku bit on her thumb as she looked away. "I eat people's sins."

"Hm? What does that mean?"

"I can't exactly show you right now and I can't explain it myself." She looked down at her small hands. "To be honest, it kind of creeps me out."

"Yeah, my power scares me too." Mikado tried to think of a way to explain to Masaomi what was happening to him without freaking out his best friend. The founder of the Dollars closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead.

"Are you okay?" the smaller girl asked.

"No," Mikado replied. Suddenly, his phone buzzed.

-Aoba and the Orihara Twins-

Ever since he got out of the hospital, Aoba stay by the Orihara twins. They seemed to provide a sense of calm. Despite this, that feeling of unease wouldn't leave him. What if Kaori decided to come after Mairu and Kururi? Aoba reached out and touched their hands.

"Is something wrong?" Kururi asked. The lone shark boy forced himself to smile as he shook his head.

"No," he said.

"Oh, did Mikado come by and visit you?" Mairu asked. The boy gave her a puzzled look.

"Who is that?" Aoba asked. The twins stopped and stared at him.

"Ryugamine Mikado," Mairu said. "Remember? He's your senpai."

"I don't know who that is," the boy replied so confused. The twins looked at each other. He didn't seem to be kidding around either.

-Chirin and Kitano-

Mikado looked up at his phone. He didn't recognize the number on the screen. Against his better judgement, he reached over and picked it up. He stared at the screen for a few seconds before he felt a pair of eyes on his back. The boy turned and noticed the worried look on Kohaku's face.

"I have to take this," he said. "Excuse me." She grabbed onto his sleeve as he stood up.

"I will be back, I promise," Mikado insisted. He had to pry her fingers off before stepping outside with his phone.

"Hello?" the boy asked.

"Hello Chirin-kun," Kitano said on the other line.


	16. Kitano

Halo Fifteen: Kitano:

-January 18, 1957-

Kitano Minako dusted off the snow from her coat before she marched into the hospital. The nurses greeted her at the door.

"Good morning, Kitano-san," they said, bowing. Minako didn't even make eye contact as she walked past them to the stairs. Concerned, they followed after the stern woman. She made it to the second floor and walked down to her son's room. She had a mission today. For weeks, she tried to get her son out of bed. The doctors told her that movement at least once a day would help the boy's heart grow stronger. So far, her attempts to get her youngest son out of bed had backfired.

"Come on, Katsuhiro-kun," Minako would plead. "Don't you want to get better and go home? I want you to." The child just turned over in his bed. Her pleading couldn't reach him.

Today, Minako had a different plan.

The nurses caught up to her in time as she opened the door to her son's room. Young Kitano sat up in his bed when he heard footsteps. Minako had a little smile on her face.

"Hello, my son," she said. "Today is your birthday." He turned to face his mother. Her thick black coat ate up the upper half of her body. She still had on her work clothes and boots underneath. Her brown scarf and disheveled long black hair gave her a tied look.

"My… birthday?" her son asked.

"Yes. Happy birthday."

But, Young Kitano noticed something off about his mother. "Where is my present?"

"Look out the window," Minako said, pointing to the window bed to his bed. The boy turned his head. From where he sat, a package wrapped in brown paper sat on a bench covered in snow. Young Kitano turned back to his mother.

"Why is it out there?" he asked.

"The only way you are going to get your present is if you get and go get it," Minako said. She didn't turn around when she heard gasping.

"What are you doing?!" one of the nurses cried. Kitano's mother waved her off.

"But… won't somebody steal my present?" her son asked.

"Well then you better get up and get it," she said as she ripped the sheets off of him. Young Kitano stared at her wide-eyed. His mother folded her arms across her chest. The look in her eyes said, "Get moving, boy!" The child lowered his head as he slid out of bed.

"You don't have to do this!" one of the nurses shouted as Young Kitano put on his slippers.

"Hush!" his mother hissed. "He needs this!"

"But…" another nurse said. Minako turned to her with a cold look in her eyes. The three nurses closed their mouths as Young Kitano slid off of the bed. Already, he started panting as the pain started up in his chest.

"Do not give up on me!" his mother hissed. "Stand and walk out there like a mouth!" Her son nodded as he struggled to catch his breath. He couldn't feel his slippers as he took the first step. His movements were heavy and dragging. The boy walked in between swallows breaths. He didn't think the distance from his bed and the door would be so long.

"Do not stop until you reach that bench!" Minako shouted. Young Kitano's breathing became heavier when he reached the door framed. He walked past the nurses. If his room was bad, the hall looked even worse. The elevator was at the other end too. He could feel the eyes of the nurses and his mother on his back.

"Keep going," Minako said. Katsuhiro took in a heavy breath and stopped walking again. His steps became unbearable as his head began to spill.

"That's enough, Kitano-san!" one of the nurses yelled. "You are going to overwork his heart!"

"Shut up!" Minako barked. "You all have been spoiling him too much!"

"But…"

"I said, shut up!"

Young Kitano was already halfway down the hall by the time that exchange took place. He breathed heavily, but wouldn't stop walking. He didn't want to see the disappointed look on Minako's face if he gave up. Katsuhiro collapsed when he reached the elevator. The elevator man stared at him with big eyes.

"Are you okay, son?" he asked. The boy nodded as he pointed to the elevator. It took him about ten minutes to get back onto his feet. He sat on the elevator floor leaned against the wall.

"Up or down?" the operator asked.

"Down," the child said, panting. The elevator man cranked the door closed and operated the cab downwards. The short ride gave Young Kitano enough time to catch his breath. He closed his eyes and gulped. Once the doors opened, the boy resumed his journey.

The cold air on his skin was nothing compared to the pain in his body. He felt his head swimming as the bench looked so far away. Despite that, the child could still feel his mother's eyes on his back. Katsuhiro took in deeper breathes and pushed himself to keep walking. He finally pushed himself into a bench. The boy sat, panting. That was too much work. To his surprise, the birthday present was still on the bench.

Young Kitano reached over and pulled the gift into his lap. He tore away at the brown paper. A little smile came onto his face when he sees a book of Japanese mythology. Amaterasu stood on a cloud on the cover. The title was in white characters on the right. The boy ran his fingers over the cover. Minako walked over to the bench with the boy's coat in her hand. Her son looked up when she stood inches away.

"I knew you could do it," she said. His mother draped the thick brown coat over Young Kitano's shoulders.

One year later, a nurse would accidentally give the boy the wrong amount of medicine.

-Present Day-

Mikado's eyes widened.

"Kitano… -sensei?" he asked. "What do you want?"

"I am only calling to check in on you," the doctor said on the other line.

"What did you do to Kuronuma-kun?"

"I didn't do anything to him. Asato-sensei freed you from him."

"Freed me from…? Wait, are you between the deaths of the Blue Squares?"

"You could say something like that."

"But why would you do that?"

"Are you upset about them? Don't be. They were just filthy animals anyway."

"What?"

"You are a higher species now. You should not associate yourself with garbage. There is no need to cry for them. I just had them sent to the slaughter. They will not be missed. You should be thanking me."

"What are you going to do with Kuronuma-kun now?"

"His fate is of no concern to you. You are complete strangers now. You need to be more focused on yourself and your brothers and sisters."

A confused look came over Mikado's face. "What are you talking about? What brothers and sisters?"

"Your fellow tadpoles."

"What are you planning to do with us?"

"I am not inclined to answer that right now. You just focus on developing your powers. You have one more day into this experiment after all."

"Why are you doing this?"

"We'll be in touch." Kitano hung up before Mikado could open his mouth. The boy's fist shook as he clutched his phone.

* * *

-Masaomi-

Memories keep coming back due to the first gate being opened. Masaomi felt them in flashes.

This one stuck out the worst.

Mikado sat on the ground with his hands cut up by broken glass. The boy pulled out the pieces and dropped them on the ground. Bruises and cuts covered his body as blood seeped through a dusty white shirt and pants. There was a dead body surrounded by the larger pieces. Its face was obstructed in this memory. Masaomi stood in the doorway, panicked.

"Mikado?" he asked. His friend turned to him with a crazed look in his eyes, chuckling.

"It doesn't hurt," he said. "I can't feel it. But it's so red." The boy broke into trembling. "What's happening to me?"

Masaomi didn't know whether to run away or towards his friend.

The blonde shogun couldn't place when disturbing scene took place or if he was seeing something from the future. Either way, it affirmed his belief of staying by Mikado to keep him snapping. Ever since Satoshi's death, Masaomi swore to himself that he would stay by his best friend's side no matter how freaked out him would become with each revelation.

That still left Saki and keeping her alive.

Masaomi about jumped when his phone rang in his pocket.

"Saki-chan?" he asked.

"No, it's me," another girl's voice said on the other line.

A puzzled look came over the boy's face. "Michi-chan?" Michiko sighed aloud.

"I told you not to call me that."

"No, you haven't."

"Yes, I have."

"When?"

"Never mind that! Have you seen anything strange around the city since this morning?"

"What do you mean?"

"Have you seen rows and huddles of black cats staring at people or strange children running around?"

Masaomi looked around the crowded, snow-covered street. Only people walking by were in sight. He couldn't see any cats or strange children running around or playing.

"No," he said. "Why?"

"Masaomi-kun," Michiko said. "Listen to me. I have to tell you something really important."

* * *

-Visions-

The first gate being opened let some unwelcome "guests" slip into the living world.

Bakeneko began sitting around Ikebukuro, watching the humans carry on with their lives. They appear to be waiting for something. Or someone. The little buggers sit on vending machines, trash cans, roofs, and guard rails.

But, the humans can't see them.

However, Mikado was about to go back inside when he noticed a single black bakeneko sitting across the street, staring at him. It's blood red eyes gave him the creeps as he opened the door. _What does it want with me?_ The more it stared at him, the more it told him to stay away.

Tetsu saw another bakeneko staring at him outside his kitchen window. Just like Mikado, he felt a sense of unease just by looking at that furry little monster.

"See something interesting?" Taichi asked at the table. Tetsu pointed out the window.

"Can't you see that creepy little cat?" he asked.

"Huh?" the other boy asked. He peered out the window. "No." Tetsu looked out the window again. The cat stared at him with its blood-eyes like it wanted his soul.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"There's nothing there, baby," Taichi said. "Are you feeling okay?" Tetsu went pale as he shook his head. He got up and walked out of the kitchen in a daze.

"Baby?" Taichi asked his boyfriend disappeared down the hall.

The bakeneko keep multiplying and sitting around the city, waiting for something. They are only the first sign.

* * *

-Kitano-

Meanwhile, Kitano sat as his desk. One gate was opened in the city.

"Six more to go," he said to himself. The psychiatrist pulled up his phone and typed in a quick text.


	17. Chapter 17

Halo Sixteen: Kana:

-Kana-

I haven't been sleeping too well lately.

I keep having strange visions. And I haven't been drinking much lately either. I can't explain what I have been seeing. The only person that knows about my visions is my therapist, Otomo Aya. Today, I walked up the psychological clinic. My hand trembled as I touched the door handle. Despite baring all of my secrets to my therapist, I didn't know how she would handle what I was going to say today. I rubbed my forehead and breathed in slowly.

_I can do this._

Once I got myself together, I pushed open the door and went inside.

Today's session started off with me fidgeting on the couch like I normally do. Otomo-sensei had her notepad out, taking notes.

"Is there something you wanted to share today?" she asked. I pressed my lips together as I looked down at my hands in my lap.

"I have been having strange visions lately," I said in a low voice. Otomo stopped writing and glanced up at me. My stomach turned no sooner had I said that. _Why did I say that?_ I glanced up and waited for a response.

"What kind of visions?" Otomo-sensei asked. I froze with my hands.

"It's kind of hard to explain," I said.

"Try me."

I rubbed my forehead as I tried to think. "Well, I keep seeing this giant tower in the middle of this city. It's so quiet. Almost like a deathly quiet. The buildings look like they are crumbling and destroyed and there isn't a single person in sight."

Otomo-sensei took down her notes. "Is that all?"

I shook my head. "Sometimes, I am floating above the city." I looked around for a bit. "Have you been seeing any cats around the city lately?"

"No."

"Hm…"

"Anyway, what other visions have you been having?"

I thought about everything that I had seen since this morning. "I have seen a woman wearing a dress the color of blood."

"I see."

"I haven't been drinking too much lately either."

"You sure?"

I clinched my fists as I swallowed a mouthful of air. "Yes. My last drink was five days ago."

Otomo-sensei stopped writing her notes. "I see. Have you told anyone else about these visions?"

"No!" I tried to calm myself down. This is between my therapist and me. Whatever I say is going to be kept in confidentially, right? I should feel safe here to talk about what's been plaguing me, right?

-Aya-

After the first session that she heard her patient's visions, Aya placed a phone call when the psychological clinic closed down for the night.

"Hello?" Kitano asked on the other line.

"Kitano-san, I think I have a little problem," she said, rubbing her forehead.

"Explain."

"You see, one of my patient is starting to have visions."

"What kind of visions?"

Aya flipped through her notes. "She seems to be seeing the Woman in Red and the city's aftermath of our game."

"Hm…"

"What can this all mean?"

"Aw, yes. You've come across an important treasure in our game."

A puzzled look came onto Aya's face. "Why do you say that?"

"First, we have to know if what you are saying is correct. It sounds we might have a scribe."

"A scribe? Wait, you mean…?"

"Only one way for us to find out. To be honest, I didn't expect you to be the first one to find a scribe so quickly this time. They don't come to you until we've opened about five gates. This is really good."

"Why is that?"

"I think everything is moving at a fast pace this time."

"Is that good?"

"It's too early to say for now. Let's get back to the potential scribe."

The younger psychiatrist looked around her office before turning back to her phone. "What do you want me to do with her in the mean time?"

"Observe her," Kitano said. "Get her to talk more about her visions. Take as many notes as you can. If they start to change and get more detailed, then she is a scribe."

"Yes sir." Another thought crossed Aya's mind. "Although, there is something I wanted to talk to about for a few days now."

"Oh?" Kitano asked.

His colleague sat back in her chair. "You see, I have this junior colleague here at the clinic."

Her name was Yamaguchi Sadako.

Three days ago, she walked up to Aya's office at the clinic and knocked on the door.

"Enter," Aya said. She looked up to see a young lady dressed in a light purple dress suit and heels. The older woman gave her a puzzled look.

"Can I help you?" she asked. Sadako closed the door behind her. Despite everything she had seen in Tandeki's game, something about this young lady gave Aya the creeps.

"Senpai, can I ask you something?" Sadako asked.

"Okay…" the older woman said. The psychiatrist who was in her 20's walked like a ghost when she made her way over to Aya's desk.

"Is it possible to kill a patient through pushing thoughts of suicide into their heads?" she asked.

"Pardon?" Aya asked. Sadako began smiling as she pressed her finger tips together.

"I have always wanted to try and see if I could kill somebody by pushing thoughts of suicide in their head," she admitted. "I currently have a patient who is a dancer and has been battling depression since she was fifteen." Her eyes lit up as she talked. For a second, Aya was reminded of Yayoi or Yuka when they walked about Mikado/Chirin. She probably should report this as misconduct to her superiors. This was not what a therapist wasn't supposed to do.

Aya leaned in with her eyes narrowed. "Go on."

"Go on?" Sadako asked, blinking.

"Why come to me?" Aya asked. "Are you trying to get me to talk you out of it or encourage you to try it?"

"I don't know, really."

"Then why tell me any of this at all? How can you be so sure that I won't report you for misconduct to our superior?" Aya felt a chill run down her spine as Sadako smiled at her.

"I know you won't," the younger woman said. "Because you and I are alike in many ways." Her words struck something inside of Aya.

"What about her?" Kitano asked over the phone back in present day.

Aya pushed her bangs away from her forehead. "Her name is Yamaguchi Sadako and she wants to kill a patient by encouraging them to commit suicide."

"Does she have a victim in mind?"

"Yes, Yamaguchi-san told me it was a dancer battling depression since she was fifteen.

"How does she plan to execute this plan?"

"I don't know."

"Why does she want to do this?"

"She wouldn't say."

"And why come to you? Does she want you talk her out of it or encourage her?"

"She doesn't know herself."

"And how do you feel about this?"

Aya got up and walked over to her window. "To be honest, I am quite curious about her plan. I would be lying if I said I didn't want to see her go through with it."

"And the point of your inquiry is?" Kitano asked.

"What should I do?" she asked. "The right thing is to turn her in, but I want to see her plan come to full fruition. Any suggestions?"

"Hm… the plan actually sounds interesting," he said. "Plus, it wouldn't hurt to have more blood knights."

"Oh? How many do we have thus far?"

"Two, but we need twelve."

"So… What should I do with Yamaguchi-san in the meantime?"

"Talk to her and engage her. Get her to flush out the details in her plan and figure out her motives of contacting you."

"Thank you, sir." Aya hung up and felt her heart jump into a flutter. Kitano knew exactly how to make her feel needed.

-Kana-

Otomo-sensei seems to want to me talk about my visions in our sessions lately. Her interest in them is giving me the creeps. It didn't help that these visions have started to change of the past few days. They feel too real. I can't tell my husband about them. He would think that I started relapsing again.

This evening's session broke something down inside of me.

Otomo-sensei looked me in the eye like she was training a shot gun on me.

"So tell me, Kawamata-san," she said. "Have your visions changed in any way?" I froze when she asked.

"I think I'm going to be sick," I said in a small voice. I could already see the swirling fire consuming the city. I couldn't stomach the burning hair and flesh. I gulped as I sucked in a mouthful of air.

"Go on," Otomo-sensei said. "Take your time if you need to."

"Why do you insist on talking about these visions?" I asked.

"Do you remember what I told you?"

I drew my knees to my chest. "You have to let out your problems or else they will eat you up inside."

"Correct."

It felt more like she was forcing my visions out of me for her own entertainment. Suddenly, my heart stopped in my chest for a second. My breath started to get cold. Otomo-sensei's voice sounded so distant.

"Kawamata-san?" she asked. My breathing became choked up as another vision consumed me.

The air around me felt hot. I saw the streets of Ikebukuro again, but they were empty. Crumbling buildings and streets looked to be growing by the minute. Shadows the color of blood spilled over everything. The silence made it worse. There wasn't even a stray animal in sight. It felt like I was floating above everything. My body felt like it was rising and I could see the rest of Tokyo. The red shadows began to spread over the rest of the city.

My chest grew tight as more images flashed before my eyes. The room began spinning before everything turned black.

When I awoke, Otomo-sensei stood over me, looking down. I lay on my back, panting. My therapist looked at me with cold eyes.

"Did you have another vision?" she asked. I nodded as I trembled. Otomo-sensei sank down to my side.

"Tell me everything that you saw," she said in low voice. I broke down and couldn't stop talking. She wouldn't let me go until I had told her everything.

My knees felt like jelly outside of the clinic. I rubbed my forehead as I took in slower breaths. What happened in there? I grabbed onto my arms and shivered. I don't like any of this one bit. I need a drink. I tried to ignored the black cats watching me on the street.

However, I realized I wasn't alone.

I looked up to see a boy of eighteen-years-old with spikey black in a white and green jacket with jeans staring at me from across the street with an eyepatch of his right eye. I could feel an air of sympathy surrounding him.

I have seen him from somewhere.


	18. Chapter 18

Halo Seventeen: Makoto:

He started to recover more memories after the first gate was opened.

Makoto remembered his wife lying on the ground, crying. He couldn't see her face, but he could feel her pain. His heart ached to hold her. _She seems so sad. I wish I could help her. But why is she crying._ Makoto felt like he should be able to remember the reason. Every time he tried to recover more of his memories about her misery, his heart turned in pain. Almost as if something was repressing her pain.

However, Makoto had more problems to deal with.

"Makoto! Makoto! Makoto!" someone called in the dark apartment. The man drew his knees to his chest.

_Leave me alone, Michiko! I can't do this anymore._

_You have no choice anymore. Tandeki has already started to drag us back in again. They opened the first gate._

_No..._

_You know how they are. They won't stop this game until she is freed._

_Please leave me out of this fight. I can't take this anymore._

_We can't let these people die. You felt it too, didn't you?_

Makoto felt himself trembling. He tried to stay quiet and force himself in his black hole. He had hoped that the mess would go away if he didn't try anything. Michiko snorted in his head.

_So that's it then? How long are you going to be a little bitch about this? How long before they come after us? How long before they come after her?_

Makoto lifted his head. _She's back? They found my wife?_

_Not yet. But you know they will._

Makoto shook his head. _I don't believe you!_

_I'm not lying. You can stay in your hole if you want, but Tandeki will not let us go._

_Leave me alone, Michiko! I can't take this anymore. I don't have it in to fight anymore._

_So you're just going to keep running away?!_

He froze where he sat. Run… away? Makoto didn't want to run away anymore, but what choice did he have? Tandeki already took everything from him. Michiko snorted in his head again.

_You can hide and block me all you want, but I won't stop until you agree to help me again!_

Makoto shut his blind eyes and clenched his teeth. He froze when he heard the front door open.

"I'm home," Evie said. His heart jumped in his chest as footsteps walked closer to him. Fingertips ran through his hair.

"What's the matter, babe?" she asked. Makoto grabbed her arms.

"Babe?" Evie asked. The distraught man pulled her down towards him and into his arms.

"Evie, please," he said. "Just let me hold you like this. It will make me feel better."

"Did something happen, Makoto?"

"Please!"

Evie dropped her shoulders in his grasp. "Fine."

"Thank you." Tears ran down his cheeks and nose.

"Are you… crying?" she asked. Makoto rested his head on her shoulder. He's done this before with his wife. Only… she was the one crying and he was the one letting her hold him. He couldn't help but to chuckle at himself.

_What a pathetic sight I have become…_

-Michiko and Masaomi-

Michiko paced around in front of pachinko parlor. She bit on her finger nails. _How could I have been so careless this time?_ The girl didn't find the first gate in time Tandeki found it. At least Tiresias managed to find their gate on the same day. Still, Michiko wasn't sure how that would hold.

"What are you looking at?" she asked the bakeneko sitting on the ground, staring at her. The black cat demon stared at her with innocent eyes as it meowed loud enough to shake the ground. Michiko wrinkled her nose and snorted.

"You don't scare me," she said. "I have seen worse. Oh trust me, I have seen greater horrors than you can ever wish to be. You are just an annoying like cat demon. You don't even look that intimidating!"

"What are you talking to?" someone asked behind her. The young-looking girl froze and whipped around. Masaomi stood inches away, giving her a strange look. Michiko cleared her throat. _I suppose it has hit him yet. I guess I can take comfort in that for now._ She rubbed her forehead, shaking her head.

"Never mind that," the child was quick to say. "There is something that I have to tell you."

"Okay, what is it?" Masaomi asked. Michiko's face turned grim as her eyes darkened.

"Can you feel it?" she asked.

"Feel what?" he asked.

"Are strange memories starting to come back?" the child asked in a low voice. Masaomi froze as images flashed in his head. First there was Mikado picking broken glass out of his hands. Saki and her smiling face. Saki lying dead in the morgue. All of his guys from the Yellow Scarves lying on the ground covered in blood. Saki lying dead in their apartment with her face bashed in. Mikado standing over a faceless dead body with a bloody knife in his hand…

Michiko grabbed his hand.

"Masaomi-kun!" she shouted. "I'm going to need you to keep calm and listen to me. Can you do that for me?" He stared blankly at her.

"Can you do that?" Michiko asked. Masaomi pressed his lips together and nodded once. The young girl breathed out. They've done this before. She's lost count of how many times she had to tell him everything. Ideally, Michiko would've been happy to never have to tell any of this at all. However, her latest visions told her that Tandeki had their sights locked on him. She would be damned if they were going to drag him into their twisted game.

Michiko clenched her teeth.

"Something bad is coming," she said.

"What do you mean?" Masaomi asked.

"You and your friends are being targeted."

"What?"

Each word hurt to say it again, but she had to do it or this mess would never end. Her grip tightened around the blonde boy's wrist.

"Are you familiar with a group called Tandeki?" she asked. Masaomi shook his head.

"Those guys are bad news," Michiko said. "They are the ones behind the strange things happening to this city. Have you noticed that people are turning up dead or missing lately?"

"Yes… but what does that have to with this Tandeki Group?"

"You heard about the Blue Square suicides?"

"What about those?"

Michiko's gaze turned darker. "Those weren't suicides. They were murdered because of their ties to Mikado." The whole time she spoke, she examined his face. His lack of response made her stomach turn. She hoped that he would say that she was crazy or that she was making all of this up.

"How?" Masaomi asked instead. Michiko stepped back with big eyes.

"Huh?" she asked.

"If what you are saying and the Blue Squares were murdered like you say, how did they do it?" he asked. His tone told her that he wasn't joking around.

"I think they were under a spell and made to commit suicide," she answered. "I don't have an answer on why they erased Aoba's memories of Mikado instead of killing him. I couldn't stop them in time." Michiko should her head.

"Your gang is next," she said.

"What? Why?" Masaomi asked. Michiko's tight became so tight that her nails dug into his skin.

"You are their next target," she said.

"Well then… I'll be ready to fight them off," he said.

"No! You can't fight this war! Tandeki does not play fair! They will rob you of everything precious and your sanity! I can't have you get mixed up in their game! You cannot win against them! If you fight them, you will play into their hands! You'll already lose your gang and Saki! I just… I just can't…" Michiko grip loosened as she fell to her feet. She trembled as she shook her head.

"I can't let you know the pain that we have been through," she murmured. The girl kept her head down as to hide her tears.

"What are you talking about?" Masaomi asked.

"Just get your friends and run," she said. "Please, I am begging you. Do it for my sake?" The Yellow Scarves' leader lifted her head. In a normal situation, he would think that she had gone crazy. However, something about her words struck something deep inside of him.

Now Masaomi would have to protect Saki, Mikado, and Michiko from this war that was heading for Ikebukuro.

-Aya-

-February 19th-

Aya waited at her desk as the door opened. She sat up with a stern look on her face.

"Ah, Yamaguchi-san," she said. "Close the door behind you." The younger woman slowly closed the door behind her.

"Take a seat," the older woman said. She watched as the therapist with long black hair and a white dress suit walk up to the chair and sit down.

"Y-Y-You wanted to see me?" she asked. Aya leaned forward on her desk.

"I want to talk about your plan," she said. Sadako's eyes grew big.

"You're not going to turn me in, are you?" she asked.

"That will depend on your answer," Aya said. "Why did you come to me? Do you want me to stop you or encourage you?" She held up her hand when Sadako opened her mouth to speak.

"Wait," she said. "Before you answer, think long and hard about what you are going to say. You have to be certain in your answer before I make my decision." Sadako closed her mouth and thought about her reply.

"I want you to encourage me," she said at last. "I mean, I have the confidence to do it, but I hate when those nagging morals pop up in my head. You know those, right?"

"I believe I have an idea what you are getting across," Aya said.

"If I can shut down that nagging, I know that I can do it," Sadako said. She looked the older woman in the eye.

"What happens to me now?" she asked in a small voice. Aya sat back in her chair.

"How would you push the idea of suicide into this dancer's head?" she asked. "Does she have any history of depression? Has she tried to kill herself before? Does she ever talk about harming herself?" Sadako stared at her with the eyes of a deer about to meet its demise with an oncoming truck.

"I'm still working on how to push the idea into her head, but I asked her she wants to kill herself," she said. "I am planning to have write down ways she wants to kill herself. She does have a history of depression stemming back from her grandmother on her father's side. My patient hasn't tried to kill herself because she was too scared to go through with it. She frequently talks about harming herself in our sessions." Aya thought about this new information.

"You have a good start," she said. The older therapist reached into her desk and pulled out her notepad.

"Let me give you some suggestions to make your plan sure to work," Aya said. She picked up her pen and began making notes. Sadako watched with the glee of a little girl getting her first puppy.

-Shinra-

-Valentine's Day-

Shingen laid down a map on the table. His son looked up half-bored.

"What is this?" he asked.

"A map of the city," his dad answered. "Tandeki is on the move again." Already, the underground doctor was planning on coming up with a good excuse to make up to escape and spend the day with Celty.

"What are they doing now?" he asked, humoring the older masked man.

"They are looking for something!" Shingen said.

"Looking for what?"

"Gates."

"Gates?"

Shingen leaned in so close that Shinra about fell out his chair. The younger man struggled to remain in his seat.

"Don't do that!" he shouted. Shingen cleared his throat.

"There are seven gates held around the city," he said. "Tandeki already opened the first one this morning." He took a pen and circled the Tokyo Hands building.

"Okay…" Shinra said, adjusting his glasses. "I'm assuming that this is a bad thing."

"Very bad!" his father said. "If the other six are found, the Woman in Red will be freed." His son gave him a strange look.

"The Woman in Red?" he asked. "Who is that?" His father held up his hand.

"I cannot tell you that," he said. "You already know too much. The last thing I want is to have my test subject complaining if something were to happen to you." Shinra frowned as he remembered the day that he planned with Celty. Well, better wrap this up and get his father out of the apartment before his girlfriend came back.

"And does Tandeki know where the other six gates are?" he asked.

"Not yet," Shingen said. "It won't be long until they find them." The underground doctor sat back in his chair and rubbed his forehead.

"And the tadpoles?" he asked.

"We haven't figured out their purpose for Tandeki or what they plan to do with them," his father answered. Something told Shinra that getting the older man out of the house wasn't going to be as easy as he had hoped.

-Makoto-

His heart pounded is his chest as he began breathing heavily.

_It's already begun._ Makoto drew his knees to his chest. He could feel the game starting and if Michiko was right, that would mean that his lovely Hya-chan could be alive and about to be pulled into this nightmare game once again.


	19. Mikado

Halo Eighteen: Mikado:

-October 14th, Two Years Ago-

Mikado lay in bed, limp and motionless.

Three days earlier, Etsuko injected him with a syringe of bright red liquid. The moaning around him didn't help have a better opinion of the situation he was in. The last thing he could remember before blacking out with the pain was Etsuko standing over with a stoic look on her face as she took his arm.

Mikado's heart stopped for a short second as his pupils dilated. The sound of his blood rushing in his body filled his ears. On the first day, the bright liquid restricted his airway. His vision became blurred. After that split second, Mikado's heart began pounding at an accelerated rate. He lost count of how many times he lost consciousness. Each time he came to, a little bright light flashed in his eyes. Only, it looked a light under a blackened ocean. Etsuko was talking to him, but it didn't sound coherent to him. Through the first three hours, Mikado thought he was going to die with his heart racing out of control and his hindered ability to breathe. It felt like he was being held underwater, only to be let up for a few seconds before going under again. By the second morning, he wished for death to take him.

_No! I don't want to die. I don't want to die!_

By day three, the symptoms of the bright red liquid leveled off. Mikado's heartbeat returned to normal and he could breathe easier. He couldn't move, but his senses were just as clear as before. Today, the door opened. Kitano walked into the room and sat the foot of Mikado's bed.

-Present Day-

-February 15th-

-Forty-Eight Hours and Thirty-One Minutes into the Experiment-

Mikado stared at his phone.

"What should I do?" he asked. He ended up having to delete Aoba's number from his phone. The younger boy got angry when the founder of the Dollars called.

"How did you get this number?!" Aoba shouted. "Who the hell are you?! What do you want from me? Why do you keep following me around?"

"Aoba, wait!" Mikado cried.

"Stop trying to talk to me!" the younger boy said. "It's creepy!" Aoba hung up before his senpai could say another word. And that was it. The Blue Squares were finished, leaving Aoba a lone shark swimming in Ikebukuro's ocean. Mikado ended up throwing away his shark mask. What was the point anymore? Nothing he did could reach the boy anymore. Mikado looked at the ceiling of his apartment.

He already lost Aoba and the Blue Squares. He still hadn't told Masaomi about his powers.

"You're just going to lose him if you do," someone said. Mikado sat up with a chill running down his spine.

"Sato…shi?" he asked. The founder of the Dollars whipped around. Satoshi stood in the doorway, shaking his head, smirking. Mikado stumbled back, panting.

"But you're dead!" he said.

"I know," the boy with the bleeding chest said. "I am in your head." The living boy crowded away as Satoshi walked closer.

"What's the matter?" the younger boy asked. "I'm in your head. I can't hurt you."

"B-But what do you want from me?"

"Nothing really." Satoshi stood over him. "You're becoming like me. They've already taken away that boy from you. I wonder who they will take next."

Mikado shook his head. "No! It's not like that."

"My, my, my. You don't get it, do you? You're not a mere human anymore. You are a monster like me. Your precious friends will see that in time and run away from you." The boy knelt down in front of him, smirking.

"I wonder what will happen when you tell… oh what's his name?"

"Masaomi."

"Ah yes, him. I wonder what will happen when you tell Masaomi your little secret." Satoshi chuckled. "I can see it now. The look of terror when he hears that his best friend can see people's inner demons." He tried to hold back more laughter. "He might hate you and try to kill you."

"You're wrong!" Mikado shouted, shaking his head. "Masaomi-kun's not like that! We are best friends! He would never abandon me!"

"Then why haven't you told him about your powers?"

"Well… I…"

Satoshi poked him on the forehead. "You know, I almost feel sorry for you, Chirin. The love surrounding you all taken away from you. They will leave you, you know? One by one. After they abandon you, they will brand you as a monster and despise you. How long before they decide that your existence is a threat and erase you?"

Mikado clenched his fists by his sides. "That's not true! I am not a monster! They won't abandon me and my name is not Chirin!"

"Who are you talking to, Mikado?" a new voice asked. The tadpole boy looked up and saw Masaomi standing in the doorway where Satoshi stood seconds earlier. Mikado sat on the floor, blinking. He lowered his hands.

"Satoshi…" he said.

"What are you talking about?" Masaomi asked. "Satoshi's dead. I killed him, remember?" The blonde-haired boy moved his hand in a thrusting motion like he was stabbing an invisible opponent.

"I stabbed him right in the chest," he explained. "I did it to save you. He would've killed you if I hadn't. Satoshi's dead, okay?"

"Yes…" Mikado said. He drew his knees to his chest. "Masaomi-kun… I have something to tell you."

-Kitano and Aya-

Kitano sat at his desk in the dim light. "How is your protégée doing?"

Aya twisted the pearl necklace around her next. "We are just starting."

"So she gave you an answer that satisfied you?"

"Yes."

"I see." Kitano pushed away his glass. "What else did you call me for? I said that you have something for me."

"Why yes," Aya said. "I have figured out why we are having a hard time finding the gates."

"And why is that?" the boss asked. The younger psychiatrist pulled out her phone. One tap to the pictures app and she turned the phone to him. Kitano straightened up his glasses for a better look.

"A doll?" he asked.

"They are all over the city," Aya said. "I have Mari look into what was so special about them. Turns out, they are warded."

"Let me guess," Kitano said. "Hiroi-san's doing?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, that little brat has the edge over us this time."

"She's not a brat. Michiko is thirty-seven years old, remember?"

"She's still a little brat to me."

"And how are you going to fix this problem with the dolls around the city?"

Aya shoved her phone back into her purse. "I already dispatched the interns to take care of those little dolls. No sooner had she said that, her phone buzzed.

"Excuse me," the younger therapist said. She pulled out her phone and looked through her text message.

"Ho!" Aya said. "This day just keeps getting better." Kitano's phone buzzed as well. He reached into the drawer and read the text message.

"Ah, yes," he said. "This has been a positive turn of events." The older psychiatrist stuffed his phone back into his desk.

"I suppose you have Yuzuru and Yui waiting to give the order," he said.

"But of course," Aya said. She put her phone back into her purse.

-Mikado and Masaomi-

Mikado drew his knees to his chest. "Masaomi-kun… I have something to tell you."

"What?" his friend asked. The tadpole boy rose to his feet and covered up his right eye.

"What are you doing, man?" Masaomi asked. Mikado could still see that red jelly-like demon standing on his friend's shoulder.

"You're still worried about Saki, aren't you?" he asked. "You think she might be dead, don't you?" Masaomi took a step backwards.

"How do you know this?" he asked.

"I can see people's inner demons," Mikado said in a trembling voice. He lowered his hand. The tadpole rubbed his head as the room started to spin. Mikado's eyes focused on Masaomi's. His reaction could go in many directions. What if Satoshi was right? What if Masaomi now feared him and ran away?

_I couldn't handle it if he abandons me. I can't lose him. I've already lost Aoba and the Blue Squares. If I lose Masaomi-kun now, it's over for me._

"Inner demons?" Masaomi asked.

"Yes," Mikado said.

"Well… for how long?"

"For about a month now." Mikado didn't want to relive the secret hell that he had been enduring. "Listen, Kida-kun. I haven't told you everything that happened to me at Chou Mori." He shuffled his feet as he looked at his hands.

"Listen, man, you don't have to if you don't want to," Masaomi said.

"No!" the tadpole boy cried. "Listen! Please listen." Mikado broke down and told his best friend everything that he could remember with the tests, his memories, the demons that he saw, Tandeki, the deaths of the Blue Squares being connected to him, Aoba's memory loss of him, and the current experiment Kitano forcing him in. When he finished, the founder of the Dollars sank to his knees, limp and motionless. The load disappeared, but the true test began. He looked up at his best friend.

_Please say something, Kida-kun._

Masaomi stood with his face drained of color.

"Do the girls know about this?" he asked. "Anri, Chiharu, and Noriko, I mean."

"No!" Mikado wailed. He drew himself in fetal position on the floor. "I can understand if you want to run away from me now." Instead, Masaomi walked over and pulled the other boy into his arms. The founder of the Dollars looked up, taken aback.

"Masaomi… kun?" he asked.

"I don't know what's going on," the leader of the Yellow Scarves said. "But I will do everything I can to get you back to normal."

"But what if you can't?"

"Don't say that. We won't know until we try! I am not going to leave you; do you understand me?"

"But…"

"Do you understand me?!"

Mikado clenched his fists. "Yes."

"Good."

The tadpole boy looked up at his friend. "How is Saki? Is she still alive?" Masaomi tightened his grip.

"I don't know," he said. "She hasn't called back yet." The trembling is his voice made it that much worse. Mikado drew his eyes closed. At least now, he wouldn't end up alone like Satoshi. Masaomi pulled the other boy to his feet.

"I don't think we should tell Anri, Chiharu, and Noriko about your problem just yet," he said.

"But what about Emily, Nami, and Kohaku?" his friend asked.

"One problem at a time here, man," the Yellow Scarves leader said. "Let's just focus on you right now."

"So… what will we do now?" Mikado asked.

"We'll figure something out."

"But what?"

"We'll figure something out." Not too reassuring, but it would have to do for now.

-Chirin-

Why were the tadpoles created?

Kitano pulled out his tape recorder and hit record.

"Entry number one of cycle… 187, I believe. It always starts out the same anyway. This time however, Michiko seems to have one upped us. I don't think she's doing this alone, though. She's managed to get help this time. It was a good thing Otomo-sensei caught it in time. Still, we need to find the source and crash it before our game comes unraveled."

Kitano took a drink of his cold green tea.

"But that's beside the point. The main focus of this recording is my beloved tadpoles. Their awakening went off successfully. Tomorrow will be the end of experiment one and a few have found each other and started developing their powers. However, there is Chirin-kin.

"Ah yes, him. He is starting to develop his powers, but he seems a bit resistant to his inheritance that I have gifted him. I'll have to resort to breaking him in order for him to see things our way."

He leaned back in his chair.

"Do you know the best way to break your enemy and bend them to your will? It is not to physically torture them and make them scream. My darling pets have been through enough of that through our experiments on them. Torture and physical pain will have no effect on them. No, the best way to break your enemy is to take away everything precious to them. Alienate them from their allies and friends. Murder their loved ones in from them. Break their spirit, leaving them an empty shell of their former themselves. Only then, they will be broken. The problem is that Chirin-kun is loved. All of his dearest friends are loved. They share a bond that my inner circle and I have tried to destroy in the past."

He put his hand to his forehead.

"It took us a while to get. Now that we see it, it's so clear to us. The way Chirin-kun operates is with numbers. He isn't physically strong, yet. Instead, he uses his wits and numbers to survive in Ikebukuro. He has the Dollars at his well. They do as they please, but he created them. This will not do. Hence going back to my original point of breaking your enemy. Kaori and Asato-san have successfully crushed the Blue Squares."

Kitano chuckled to himself.

"Kaori always has a taste for the flare when it comes to particular kills. I do admit that the snuff films were a nice touch. With Asato-san injecting Kuronuma-kun with Lethe, all of Chirin-kun's ties to the Blue Squares are cut. Now, don't get me wrong. Chirin-kun is not a puppet by all stretches of the imagination. Far from it, in fact. He wouldn't be that fun to play with otherwise. No, Chirin-kun has his right will. Whatever action he takes is all him. That sad annoying little bored child and myself may influence him, but it's all him in the end."

Kitano sat up in his chair.

"That being said, Chirin-kun will be a little discipline if he's going to be the main witness to this world's destruction. While I experiment with my pets, I will work to tame Chirin-kun. The more I think about, the more delightful it will be break him. All in due time, of course. I for one like to sit back and enjoy things as they unfold. I will be back to update Chirin-kun's progress in our game."

Kitano hit stop on his recorder.

-Mikado-

Mikado sneezed back in his apartment. Anri tilted her head.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yes," he said.

"Somebody's talking about you," Chiharu said. Mikado frowned.

"I don't want to imagine who," he said. The tadpole remembered what Masaomi said earlier.

"I don't think we should tell Anri, Chiharu, and Noriko about your problem just yet," he said. Masaomi was right. Mikado wasn't ready to tell the normal girls about his powers or what happened to him at Chou Mori. For now, he would have to pretend that everything was fine just like it always had been. Mikado grabbed onto his arms and shivered. Instinct warned him that Tandeki would do anything in their power to rip that peace away from him.

He wasn't even aware of the role that he was forced to play in Tandeki and the Woman in Red's blood-soaked play as the curtain rose for the show to begin.


	20. Gate

Halo Nineteen: Gate:

-Russia Sushi, 7:00 p.m.-

Yui and Yuzuru sat at the bar at Russia Sushi. The latter held her pendant wrapped around her hand. She didn't look down at the charm floating and glowing at her side.

"We're in the right place, aren't we?" Yui whispered.

"Yes," Yuzuru replied. She already set out her fellow interns to seek out the warded dolls and destroy them. Right now, Yuzuru and Yui sat at the second gate while having dinner. Yui pulled out her cell phone and went to the message app.

"Care for so sushi tonight?" she asked as she typed her message. She turned her attention to Yuzuru.

"That should do it," Yui said.

"Good," the other intern said. The whole time, Simon and Dennis looked at the women at the bar with rather strange looks. The men muttered in Russian to each other.

"[How long have they been sitting there like this and not ordering anything?]" Dennis asked.

"[Three hours now,]" Simon said back.

"[What is that glowing pendant in her hand?]"

"[I don't really know.]"

"[Well, we can't have them hanging around here and ordering nothing.]"

"[Alright.]" Simon walked over to the interns at the counter.

"Young ladies," he said. "You sit here for long time and no order sushi. Would you like the house special tonight?"

"We're waiting for our friend to join us," Yui said.

"How long have you been here?" the big Black Russian man asked. Yuzuru pushed up her brown-framed glasses.

"I arrived here about three hours ago," she said. "My colleague just came in about shortly after I did. Our colleague should be joining us shortly." As if on cue, Yui's phone buzzed in her pocket. She went over to the message app and read the reply.

"What are you talking about?"

"We found the location of the second gate. I will send you directions right now." The intern went to Google maps and sent the directions to Russia Sushi. Another reply pinged her phone.

"Got it."

Yui smiled as she shoved her phone back into her pocket. "Our colleague is on her way."

"Would you like to order something?" Simon asked.

"Not yet," Yui said. Yuzuru pushed up her glasses.

"I'll have the house special, thank you," she said. Her fellow intern looked at her with an expression that asked, "Are you sure you want to do that?"

"Coming up," Simon said. He walked back towards the kitchen.

"You're really going to order that?" Yui whispered to Yuzuru.

"Why yes," her colleague answered. "I like some of the sushi here."

"You're weird," the other intern whispered back. The whole time, Simon and Dennis watched them with suspicion.

About an hour later, the door opened. Simon poked his head out from behind the booth.

"Welcome to Russia Sushi!" he greeted. Yui and Yuzuru looked up see a woman their age taking off her heeled black boots. Tiny snowflake clung to her black hair that came down to her shoulders. An icy aura surrounded her as she walked over to the two interns at the bar. She said something to Yuzuru that came out inaudible. The intern pointed down to the floor behind her back. Yui turned her attention to Simon.

"What would you recommend for a newbie in here?" she asked. As the intern engaged Simon with question, the third woman moved her hand behind her back. A vibration shot from her hand and sank into the floor. The whole restaurant shook for one second. The third woman drew her hand into her lap. Yui broke into a grin.

"Fascinating, I think I'm ready to order," she said. The intern turned to the third woman taking off her black coat next to Yuzuru.

"And what would you like to order, dear Hecate?" she asked.

"I would like the house special, the third woman replied. Her English accent and struggling Japanese made it difficult for Simon to understand. Yui had to play translator between the two.

* * *

The opening of the second gate brought back more memories to Ikebukuro. The glaring difference would only be seen by few.

-Mikado-

His tadpole instincts finally came back the next morning. Nami couldn't sneak up on him anymore while he was at his computer.

"I know you're there, Nami-chan," he said, smiling. The older boy turned to see the tadpole girl looking so stunned.

"So that's what your voice sounds like," she said. "Not exactly what I pictured in my head. I could also feel you nearby." Mikado was about to speak when the pulse ripped through the air, taking his mind back into the darkened place he wished never to visit again.

This trip was different, however.

He found himself in a brightly lit hallway with mint green walls on either side of him. The high oak arches made the setting feel much more closed than it really was. This didn't feel like Chou Mori, but it didn't feel like anything he had ever lived in before either. The endless red carpet seemed to lead him further down the hall. He felt cold the longer the hall became. On either side were numbered doors.

He wasn't alone in this hallway, however.

There was a man who looked like he was a yakuza waving around a gun while holding a plastic bag filled with money. The man was sweating profusely as he looked around the hallway. This man appeared to be looking for the right room as he mumbled random numbers to himself.

Then there were the twins…

"Mikado! Mikado! Mikado!" a girl's voice shouted back in reality. The older tadpole boy came back to reality. Nami stared at him with big eyes and panting. Their eyes met.

"Are you feeling okay?" she asked. Mikado drew in a slow breath.

"Did you feel that?" he asked.

"Yes," Nami said. "What did you see?"

"I don't know…" the older tadpole murmured. He tried to recapture the brief imagery in his head and replay it out down to the smallest detail. It felt like he was in that place, but yet not at the same time.

-Kohaku-

She actually felt it earlier than the other tadpoles. The young tadpole girl saw it in her nightmares last night.

She had on strange head gear that kept her head forward to a screen. Wires held her eyes open. Kohaku could see her own breath in the darkness. She wasn't alone in this darkness, oh no. Four pairs of eyes glared at her back.

"We shall begin the test," Kitano's voice filled the air. The projection lit up and came to life in front of Kohaku. First, soft classical music began playing in the air. Tonight's picture began with rain falling on the ground. Ten minutes, the ground panned around a stuffed doll lying in the grass. Kohaku's heart rate rested as she looked at the stitched-on smile of the little doll resting harmlessly in the rain.

"Pay attention, Shoujo Ko," Kitano said in a low voice over the microphone.

_What?_

Kohaku didn't get time to grasp what was going on when a loud noise ripped through the speakers. A scream followed and the cute little doll was splattered in blood. In cue with the loud sound, another needle was jabbed into the girl's arm. Kohaku let out a voiceless scream as fluids disappeared into her body. Her body broke out into spasms in her restraints.

"Try not to lose conscious for the rest of the film," Kitano told her. His voice was drowned out by her screaming. She struggled to breathe. A hand held her down as her body struggled. The film alternated between calm, still images to blood, gore, and loud screaming. Each time it got loud, another needle was injected into her body. Her struggles grew worse as she received more injections.

"Stay awake, Shoujo Ko!" Kitano would say every time. By the end of the film, Kohaku would black out.

Kohaku awoke trembling like a frightened little rabbit. Taiyou watched her in the corner, clutching his sword by his side. He sat over Emily as she slept. For some reason, seeing him brooding in the darkness helped back Kohaku's mind at ease. Mikado found Taiyou intimidating, but the tadpole girls saw him as a type of security blanket. It was kind of jarring to see Anri, Masaomi, Chiharu, and Noriko step over him or lean against him. It was tempting to tell them to move, but they were normals. Not wise to tell them about their powers yet.

But deep down, Kohaku knew that they now had worse problems than the normals walking through Taiyou to get to the door.

-Visions II-

First, there was the bakeneko.

Now, there are weaker demons looking for homes. Only, these homes are made of flesh and blood. They can only take those with low self-esteem and depression.

They are hunting. They are hunting.

Look at all of those people walking by. These demons have so many to choose from. To them, humans are like an all-you-can-eat buffet. One such demon is flying through sky tonight. It is drawn to the sobs of a distraught teenage girl. He found her standing on the edge of a tall building. She could hear the voices in her head yelling at her to jump.

"Jump! Jump! Nobody loves you! You won't be missed!"

Tears blinded her eyes. The demon sneered and hissed at its suicide cousins yelling at her to die. They weren't going to take its new vessel. It sailed downwards like a bullet.

The girl froze just as she was about to jump. She looked up at the sky. Visions of an information broker in a black coat filled her head. A twisted smirk came across her face.

_He should be fun to play with._

The bakeneko could see the weak demons flying through the sky seeking out vessels. They know they are there, but they do nothing. They acknowledge their cousins leaving the second open gate. Maybe, they would get some entertainment while they waited.

-Kana-

I stood as the boy with an eye patch over his right eye walked over to me. It's strange. I don't feel any fear as he walks closer. I lowered my hand to my side.

"Have you been looking for me?" I asked. This boy stood inches away from me.

"I have seen you before," he said. This is the first time that I have seen him, but I feel like we might have passed each other at one time.

"Do you know my name?" I asked.

"No," the boy said.

"What do you want from me?"

"I don't know yet."

His answer didn't make sense to me. That didn't stop something inside me saying stay and talk with him. I moved my hand to my right eye.

"What happened to your eye?" I asked.

"Nothing," he said.

"Then why are you wearing it?"

His smile looked like it was filled with pain. "I see people's inner demons." This boy says it so easily. I think he told this before. Why is he saying this around me so causally? I pressed my lips together.

"Can you see mine?" I asked.

"Yes," he said.

"What do they look like?"

This boy narrowed his left eye. "Purple and stumbling around like it's drunk." I looked away from him.

"Oh…"

"Are you trying to stop drinking?"

I froze as I looked down at my trembling hands. "How can you tell?"

"Your demon keeps saying 'sake'."

Any normal person would've turned and run away by now. The way he talked scared me so. What gave him the right to look at my inner demon or whatever it was? Who was this kid?

"Excuse me, ma'am," he said. "If you don't mind me asking, what is your name?" I clenched my fists at my side.

"Kawamata Kana," I said. "And who you?"

"Ryugamine Mikado," this strange boy said, bowing. "Nice to meet you."

"Uh… yeah… Same here." I don't know whether to laugh uncomfortably or slowly back away.

-Mikage-

Izaya once again led Mari back to his apartment. He wouldn't hear of her excuses of having to work late again.

"You have the other interns to do your mom's work," he said.

"That's not the point," she said in a low voice.

"Excuse me?" Izaya asked. Mari shook her head as she kept her eyes to her feet. The information broker raised his arms in the air.

"I feel like having some fatty tuna tonight!" he said. Izaya turned his attention to his friend with benefits.

"My treat," he said. Mari sheepishly looked away. She has to stay with him tonight. Now that the second gate has been opened, there was no telling of who or what could put his life in danger. Mari would have to get him away from Tandeki before the three beggars appeared in Ikebukuro.

"Alright," she said. "I haven't had dinner yet anyway." Izaya flashed his infamous smirk as he put his arm around her shoulders. The young woman didn't even try to push him off tonight.

They passed Rakuei Gym. Sharaku Mikage happened to be closing up for the night when she spotted Izaya walking with a woman who didn't look comfortable being his company. She looked too old to be another suicidal girl that he was looking to troll. Mikage walked outside as they disappeared from view.

"Who is that?" she asked.


	21. Demon

Halo Twenty: Demon:

"No! Wait!" a salaryman shouted as he was cornered in an alley. A woman in a black kimono and an oni mask raised a cleaver above her head.

"No! Please! No!" the man cried. Hack! That shiny blade came down on its victim eight times. The masked woman didn't respond to the blood flying everywhere. She threw down her cleaver and dragged the body away with her.

* * *

The effects of the second gate are still spreading through the city. Most cannot feel it, but more people are starting to remember what happened to them. Some are even starting to sense that something isn't right…

-Nanami-

Nanami and her fiancé went out for lunch on their date.

"Everything looks so good on the menu," she said. "I don't know what to choose."

"Remember, you can pick anything you want, it's on me today," her fiancé said. "Just don't make me go broke." Nanami laughed.

"Don't worry, I'm not cruel like that," she said. The math teacher turned the page in her menu. She had learned how to act like everything was fine with the help of Arisu. Nanami hadn't tell her fiancé yet and didn't want to until she and Arisu could go to the police. However now that Keiichi was the only one who could help her, she wondered if that would be a possible.

"I like the cold Thai noodle dish," her lover said.

"Where?" the teacher asked.

"Right here," he said. He reached over to point to the item on her menu. However, Nanami froze when she saw her fiancé's silver wrist watch.

Deep purple beaded curtains surrounded the room. Smoke floated around the dim lights. Three men sat on a leather couch, undressed. One them held a lit cigarette in his hand as he walked over to five women sitting in front of them. These pleasure dolls were naked except for the chains around their wrists, ankles, and necks. They looked high and dazed out. The faces of the men were blurred out in this memory. Nanami could barely hear their voices as they spoke among each other. She could only make out some of the things that they said.

"Which one should we fuck first?" one of the seated men asked, pointing to the slaves behind them. The man with the cigarette walked up to one of the chained-up women. He ran his fingers along her cheeks. The woman's eyes looked so empty that he could see himself clearly in them. His lips curved into a twisted smirk.

"We can do anything we want to them, right?" he asked.

"Yes," the other seated man said. "We just can't leave any visible marks on their bodies." For some reason, his voice sounded so familiar to her.

"Heh," the man with the cigarette said. Nanami managed to check a glance of his silver watch as he lifted the first woman by her chin. He whispered something into her ear. The pleasure doll had her mouth agape.

"Heh," her captor said, smirking. The naked man snubbed out his cigarette behind her ear.

"You little slut!" he said aloud, sneering. "I am going to fuck you so hard! You disgust me!"

" _Nanami-chan? Nanami-chan?"_

Nanami felt the chain being pulled around her neck, pulling her forward into a man's lap.

"Get down and suck me off, bitch," that familiar voice commanded in a growl. Nanami's plump lips slowly drew open and…

"Nanami-chan!" someone shouted back in real life. The teacher jerked her head upwards to see her fiancé shaking her arm with a concerned look on his face. Her eyes widened when they met with his.

"Are you feeling okay?" her fiancé asked. She stared at him, panting.

"You look so pale," he said. "Are you sick, baby?" Her fellow teacher tried to touch her forehead, but she pushed him off.

"Don't touch me!" she screamed. The teacher didn't even make eye contact at the other people in the café as she ran towards the bathroom.

"Nanami… -chan?" her fiancé asked.

* * *

Nanami sat in the bathroom stall, pale and panting. _That couldn't have been real. That couldn't have been real! That couldn't…_ She lowered her head, crying. Those images wouldn't leave her head. Nanami could almost taste that foul cock in her mouth all over again. She was certain that hand was pulling on her hair too. Thinking about it made her skin crawl. Maybe she ended up choking on it at one point.

Nanami shook her head to force the vulgarity out of her head. _I don't want to go back there! I don't want to go back there!_ More tears filled her eyes.

The teacher reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out her cell phone.

"Keiichi-kun," she whimpered. "It's happening again. Please… help me…" Tears started rolling down her cheeks.

"Okay, okay, calm down," Keiichi said on the other line. "Tell me what happened." Nanami took in deep breath and started talking.

"Where are you now?" he asked on the other line.

"I'm on a date with my fiancé."

"And he still doesn't know the truth?"

"No!"

"Uh… Okay… Uh… I'll stay with you on the phone until you feel better, okay?"

Nanami nodded while sobbing. "Uh-hm."

"I'm not good at comforting a crying girl. I'm sorry."

"That's okay." The teacher sniffled. "I just needed someone to talk to. I don't know how my fiancé will take it if he learned the truth."

"You have to tell him soon. What if finds out before we have the evidence?"

"I can't tell him yet. What if he doesn't believe me?"

"Do you have a good man?"

"Huh?"

"Do you have a good man?"

Nanami sniffled. "Yes."

"Well, if he leaves you after you tell him the truth, then he isn't a good man," Keiichi said. Something in how he said that sounded so comforting to him in a way that she couldn't understand.

"Thank you," Nanami said.

"For what?" he asked.

"Staying with me through this."

"It's something Arisu-senpai would do."

"You two seemed really close."

"Yeah, she was my mentor, in fact."

"Tell me more about you and Arisu-chan." Nanami leaned against the stall wall and let Keiichi tell her stories about how he and Arisu first met.

When Nanami returned to her table, her fiancé looked up.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked.

"Yes," Nanami said. She sat down in her seat. "Listen, Nobuo-san. I have to tell you something."

"What?" he asked. Nanami pressed her lips together.

"Not here, okay?" she asked. "Can you please let me tell you when the time is right?"

"Nanami-chan…" Nobuo said.

"Please?" she asked. "Please?" Her fiancé gently took her by the hand.

"I'll wait as long as you want me to," he said. Nanami stared at him with big eyes. Maybe Arisu and Keiichi were right about her fiancé. Maybe he would understand her secret pain when the time was right.

-Hikari-

She isn't herself lately.

Her friends noticed that something was about her.

"Hikari-chan!" someone yelled as she was leaving school. The girl with the black pigtails turned to see Mamiya Manami jogging to catch up with her. She turned to her friend with no emotion on her face.

"Yeah?" she asked. The other girl took a moment to get her breath back.

"Are you okay?" Manami finally asked. Hikari tilted her head.

"Huh?" she asked.

"You left me a voice message last night crying because Seita cheated on you and you said that you couldn't take it anymore. You threatened to jump from the Tokyo Hands building." The other girl didn't react at first. Her face then lit up with realization.

"Oh!" she said. "That. Well, I was upset last night. I was going to kill myself, but I changed my mind. I'm fine now. Thanks for asking." Something about Hikari's smile made Manami shiver. Her friend turned and walked away before she could ask any more questions. The other girl reached out, but lowered her hand.

_Hikari-chan…_

The possessed girl had her own plans.

Ever since last night, she couldn't chase out that image of the information broker in the black coat. Something about him lured her to him. The possessed girl aimed to find out why.

But first, that demon would have to get used to his new vessel.

-Aoba and Kaori-

Ever since he got out of the hospital, Kaori had been taunting Aoba.

It all started with texts.

The first was a picture of Gin in his casket. Kaori had crashed the funeral days after the police released his body. She kept her eyes lowered the whole time, looking sad. She made her way to the open casket and snapped a picture.

The next morning, Aoba got a text from Kaori. Seeing her number made him tremble and grit his teeth. She already killed his gang and put him in the hospital. What the hell else could she do to him? Against his better judgement, the boy opened the text message. There was the picture of Gin's dead body in his casket. Kaori had photoshopped cartoony flames around him. "Help me, I'm in hell!" the caption read. Aoba screamed in rage as he tossed his phone across the room.

The taunting and mind games didn't stop there.

Kaori could be anywhere. If she could take down Yoshikri with no problems, she could do the same to the Orihara Twins. Aoba had resolved to stay with them and keep his eyes out for Mairu and Kururi. But who was watching over him?

Lately, Aoba couldn't be sure if he was imagining it or not, but more and more gangsters were giving him dirty looks. A couple of them seemed to be muttering something to each other. Aoba stuck up his nose.

_She wouldn't be that stupid to use the same trick on me_ , he thought. Aoba could survive this. He had the wits and skills to survive—with or without his gang. As much as he hated to admit, he was like a miniature version of Izaya. Aoba grimaced as that thought crossed his head.

"Is something wrong?" Mairu asked as they walked to Rakuei Gym. The blue-haired boy looked up from his thoughts.

"Oh, nothing," he said. "I've just had a lot on my mind."

"You know, you should make up with Mikado," she said. "It's not good to hold a grudge over a falling out." Aoba stared at her, looking confused.

"Who's Mikado?" he asked.

"How long are you going to pretend like you don't know who he is?" Mairu asked.

"I'm not pretending," Aoba insisted. "I don't know who you are talking about? Everyone keeps saying that I need to make up with this Mikado-guy. But I really don't know why they are telling me this?" Mairu and Kururi looked at each other.

"He's not making this up," Kururi said. She and her sister turned back to Aoba.

"Did something happen between you and Mikado?" the older twin asked.

"No," Aoba said, getting annoyed with hearing Mikado's name. Why did everyone keep asking him about him and that guy anyway? Aoba took in a deep breath.

"I have so much on my mind," he said. "I guess I'll talk to this Mikado-guy or whatever."

"Great!" Mairu said. Kururi smiled. The boy sighed and rubbed his forehead. _Right…_

That evening, Aoba walked home alone. He had just called the Orihara twins and made sure that they made it home alright. Once again, they insisted that he talk to Mikado and make up with him. Aoba had just reached the front door when he heard someone yell, "Hey shithead!" He turned around and…

Wham!

When he came to, Aoba reached up and touched his head. The warm liquid made him draw back his hand. A red fluid ran down his fingers. Aoba chuckled to himself. So she did go and pull the same trick again.

Suddenly, his cell phone rang. He already had a guess of who was calling him.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Oh, you're still alive!" a girl's voice cheered on the other line. Aoba gritted his teeth. If he had to hear her voice one more time…

"What do you want?" he asked.

"That was a little warning," Kaori said.

"A warning?"

"If you try to talk to Chirin, you will receive much worse."

Aoba furrowed his brow. "Who the hell is Chirin?"

"That is no concern of yours. I might go after the twins if you refuse to listen."

He gritted his teeth. "You better not!"

"If you're so worried about them, call your little gang to protect you," Kaori said. "Oh wait, you can't! I killed them!" Aoba hung up as she laughed on the other line. He cursed himself for not being able to battle this alone and curse Kaori for being a thorn in his side.

* * *

Kaori hung up her phone, smirking.

"You know, you don't have time to be toying with that boy," a voice spoke up. She looked up to see Etsuko standing in the doorway of her bedroom. Kaori said up on her bed, smiling.

"But I'm bored," she whined. "I want to kill something! When do I get to kill people again?" Etsuko walked in and patted her on the head.

"There, there, my dear," she said. "You will get plenty of time to kill again." The girl looked up at her with big eyes.

"Do you promise?" she asked.

"Yes," the doctor said. "Come look at something with me. You're going to like this." Kaori tilted her head.

"Oh?" she asked. "What is it?"

"Let me show you," Etsuko said. She took her "daughter" by her hand and walked down to her room.

-Kana and Mikado-

Mikado had his head back against the bench, looking up at the night sky.

"To be truthful, I don't know why I sought you out or how," he said. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. But then again, you knew that, didn't you Kana-san?" The older woman sat with her hand to her chest.

"But how do you know me?" she asked. Mikado shrugged his shoulders.

"I can't really explain that myself," he said. "I was back at home when I felt that I had to find you."

"Okay…"

Mikado glanced over at Kana's hand trembling against her chest. "You're trying not to reach into your purse and take your pills in front of me, aren't you?" He took her uncomfortable silence as a "yes". The demon stumbling around on her shoulder kept chanting, "Take it! Take it! Take it!"

"Anyway, I have been starting to remember things that have happened to me," Mikado said, ignoring the demon. "They come back in bits and pieces. Last night, I think I had a dream about one of those memories."

Mikado focused his mind as if trying to recover every detail to tell the story.

"I wake up in this bright red room with a bad headache. At first, everything seems blurry. Once my eye sight clears, I realize that I am in some sort of a bar. This placed looked like that vampire café in Ginza that a friend of mine was dragged to by a friend of hers one time. The bar itself is one black coffin with a silver cross on the top. The skulls, crosses, and demonic masks creep me out. I was trying to figure out why I was there when I hear footsteps walk into the room. I looked up and see a woman in a kimono walking towards the bar. When she gets to where I am sitting, she takes a good look at me. She gives me this strange look.

"'You're too young to be in a bar,' this lady said.

"'I don't know how I got here,' I tell her.

"'You don't know how you go here?' she asked. I shake my head at her.

"'Well, I can't serve alcohol to minors here. Would you like something non-alcoholic to drink?'

"I reached into my pockets, but I realized that I don't have anything in them.

"'I'm sorry, but I don't have any money.'

"'Then you can't stay here,' the lady tells me. 'You're going to have to leave. I'm about to close up.' I look over at the door and suddenly I start to panic.

"'No!' I shout. 'Please don't make me leave! I'll help you close! Just don't make me go out that door!' I start trying to clean the bar. This lady grabs my hands, shaking her head.

"'Stop, just stop,' she says. 'You don't have to do that. I'm sorry, but you're going to have to leave.' She takes me by the arm and pushes me out the door. I keep begging not to go, but she pushes me out of the bar anyway.

"When I end up outside, I come out of another woman's stomach covered in blood."

Kana stared at him with an uneasy look on her face. "I don't understand."

"Don't understand what?" Mikado asked.

"Why are you telling me all of this?"

He shrugged and shook his head. "I don't really know why yet. But somehow, I feel like I can trust you." Kana's phone rang in her purse. The boy looked over at her.

"Aren't you going to answer that?" he asked. The woman stared at him with big eyes.

"Go ahead," Mikado said. "I don't mind. I won't be here by the time you finish your call anyway. I have to get home before my friend starts freaking out." Kana hesitated at first, then reached into her purse and pulled out her dark purple phone.

"Hello?" she asked. As Kana talked with her husband, Mikado stood up and walked away, smiling and feeling at ease with himself.

-Kitano-

Kitano sat in his office while making another call.

"Ah yes," he said. "I think it's about time that she got her memories back. Hm? Don't do anything just yet. Observe her, but don't interact with her." His lips curved into a smile.

"She will make contact with Makoto-san again," Kitano said. "She always has no matter how many times he tries to push her away."


	22. Noriko

Halo Twenty-One: Noriko:

-Kitano-

I once had a patient back in Chou Mori from January 2nd, 1987 to about July 1st. Her name escapes me at the moment, but that's not relative to the story right now. Her husband, Makoto, brought her to Chou Mori because her depression over the loss of their infant son had gotten worse. The director had convinced me to treat her pro bono. At the time, I didn't really care. These patients were all the same to me. I thought she would be no different.

That was until I met her personally.

-Noriko-

Ever since December, I keep having strange memories from a life that doesn't feel like mine, but yet it does.

There was a baby. It was a little boy from what I can remember. I could see a woman's arms holding him. His little cries seemed to stir her heart and mine. But, I am only seventeen years old. I haven't even had a boyfriend. Why would I be seeing this precious little child. Something inside of me wants to know the truth.

"Mikado-kun," I said to Mikado one day after class. "Do you still have Izaya's number?" He and Masaomi gave me strange looks.

"Why would you want to talk that asshole?" Masaomi asked. My body trembled as I clenched my fists at my sides.

"There is something I need to ask him," I said in a low voice. Masaomi frowned as he narrowed his eyes at me. Mikado eyed me uneasily as he trained his left eye on my lips. (I don't know why he wears that eye patch out in public when his right eye is fine.)

"You know that's not a good idea," Masaomi said.

"Nobody is willing to tell me why I keep having all of these memories," I said. "I can't stand not knowing."

"We all have the same problem," he said. "But that's no reason to talk to Izaya."

"What else am I supposed to do? I am going crazy here! If you don't give me Izaya's number, I will find another way to get it."

Mikado reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Masaomi glared at him as he handed the phone over to me.

"Thank you," I said. I opened the main screen and scrolled through the contact book.

"You sure this is a good idea?" I heard Masaomi whisper.

"She's not going to give up otherwise," Mikado whispered back.

"But you know how Izaya is!"

"Do you think we really can convince her otherwise?"

I tried to tune them out as I copied Izaya's number into my phone. I handed Mikado back his phone, frowning.

"Thank you," I muttered. I turned and walked down the hall. Masaomi muttered about not having a good feeling about this behind my back.

-Kitano-

During our first session, the patient rambled on about God. Now, God has meaning nothing to me and still doesn't. I believed that I would get one of those religious fruitcakes that came through Chou Mori. At first, I half-listened as she told me about her son and husband.

"Tell me, why would God take your son?" I asked out of the blue.

"What?" I asked. I didn't know why I asked her that. I guess I didn't want to hear her go on and on about how great that fairy in the sky was.

"Why would God take your son?" I asked again. "If he is so great and wonderful why would he do such a terrible thing?"

This patient lowered her head and shook it. I eyed her, expecting her to crumble at day one. But then, I noticed her mumbling something to herself.

"Excuse me?" I asked. I leaned in closer as this patient kept mumbling. I could only catch a few words before I could contact that she was praying. To be exact, she was muttering something about the story Job from the Bible. I sat back, furrowing my brow. It didn't make sense. How could she still hold onto her God after losing her son? Then, she said something else that made up my mind about her.

"I feel that God is testing me," she said.

"And why is that?" I asked.

"I don't know," this patient said. She rested her head on the table. "I feel tired." Hearing her say that struck something inside of me. I hadn't had this feeling since a nun came by my hospital bed and read the Bible to me when I was thirteen. Looking at that patient with her head on the table told me what I had to do.

I decided to kill her beloved God.

-Noriko-

There are more memories that fill my head.

There was a husband along with this baby. I couldn't see his face or hear his voice. Something about him made me so sad. Lately, I have been seeing him in my dreams.

So far, they start out the same.

He and I are in this pretty fancy-looking black car. I think it was made in 1977, a Nissan Skyline GT-R, I want to say. Maybe it was a Toyota Celica. I can't be sure. Either way, he was so proud of that car. My head rested on his shoulder as we drove down a country road. We were talking. I couldn't hear what we were saying, but I knew the words.

"I heard you talking in your sleep last night," he says.

"What were you doing?" I asked.

"I was just watching. You seemed sad."

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Well… uh… I didn't want to intervene. It just seemed like you were suffering somewhere else. I didn't think it was my place to drag you out of it. I just let you be."

"So you just let me suffer?"

I don't remember much of the conversation in the car. I always wake up or it fades to black and I never hear his answer. This isn't the only memory I keep having.

I stood in the mirror hanging on my bathroom door. There were times that I was really skinny. I could see the bones through my skin. It hurt to bathe in hot water. I couldn't explain why I had stopped eating. Mikado would try to feed me, but my stomach couldn't handle solid food. I even threw up rice porridge. At one point, I thought that my hair was falling out.

I looked down at my arms. They sometimes have hideous scars up and down them. Not just on my arms either. I would cut my legs, stomach, chest, and neck. There were times where I wanted to die. In the box that was left at my doorstep back in October, I came across videos of myself totaling up the different times I tried to kill myself.

Hanging: 13

Cut Wrists: 47

Pills: 28

Thoughts of Jumping: 4

Going to the Aokigahara: 28

Number of Attempts Total: 116

I had to stop each the videos each time. I can't play them again without getting crept out. Each time I tried to die, I would either chicken out or someone would pull me back. Part of me wished that would never happen. Just like my not being able to eat, I couldn't explain the need to die. Whenever I get pulled back, I see myself holding that little baby dead in my arms. His little body still warm, but soaking wet.

I remember sitting on the kitchen floor crying with the child's lifeless body in my arms. I must have fallen asleep like that because it was morning when my husband came home and found us. He was screaming as I broke down sobbing.

It doesn't make sense.

I am only seventeen years old. I couldn't have been married or had a child. When did I ever try to starve or kill myself?

Thinking about it made my head hurt. I took in a deep breath and dialed up Izaya. Masaomi, Anri, and Chi didn't trust him, but I didn't know where else to turn. I drew my knees to my chest as the other line rang.

_Come on, please pick up! Pick up!_

"Hello?" a man's voice said on the other line. My whole body became stiff.

"Uh… is this Izaya?" I asked.

"Are you Ishikawa Noriko?"

"Yes."

There was a pause on the other line. Already, I began to wish that I had listened to Masaomi. Still, I had to know the truth.

"I have been expecting you to call me for some time now," Izaya said.

-Kitano-

During our sessions, I would show this patient tragic stories of human cruelty and death. She would read through each newspaper clipping I slid over to her. I asked her where her God was when all of this carnage was happening. Her answer was always the same.

"God allow suffering to test us all," the patient would say.

"But that doesn't make any sense. Doesn't God love you enough to stop the pain?"

"He tests us and loves us at the same time."

"That's how he is sometimes. We just have to trust and believe in him."

"But he took away your son. How can you not hate him for that?"

This patient shook her head. That was the only way I could stop her from going on about how great her God was. Still, I really did mean it about why she didn't hate that fairy in the sky after her son's death.

"Why don't you hate God?" I asked her during one of our session. This patient didn't make eye contact with me as she spoke.

"Because I believe in him," she said. "He has blessed me with good health, a home, husband, and my son."

"But he took your son. How can you still love God after that?"

"I have faith in him. That's all I need to know."

No matter what I did or said, this patient wouldn't give up her faith. She foolishly clung to her God like a needy little child. I couldn't understand it. The more I talked with her during or sessions, the more I became… agitated. I remembered the first time that happened. Such a feeling took me by surprise. I couldn't place a time where I felt like yelling in a patient's face ever I started working at Chou Mori at the age of thirty-five. Every time she spoke about her God, it pushed me to try and kill him even more.

In the end, I couldn't kill her God. The night before she left, I sat in my office, brooding. I still couldn't figure her out. Something about her seemed off and I'm not talking about her depression. The way I put it down in her notes was that she suffered from a complex where she felt like she was being martyred. This patient probably saw herself as a saint trying to atone for the death of her son. Nothing that the doctors said to her could reach her otherwise. The medications helped, but it didn't really fix the problem. Sure, she came out of her depression, but she still hung onto her God.

I rubbed my forehead on the night before she was to leave Chou Mori.

"Are you frustrated yet?"

-Noriko-

"You said that you didn't have any information on me," I said. "What did you mean by that?"

"Exactly what I said," Izaya said. "Your life is a lie."

"It can't be."

"Tell me, have you started to get your memories back yet?"

I froze as I began to see that little baby dead in my arms again. My heart ached to see his little face. I saw myself in the car driving down that country road with my husband. That same car pulled up to a menacing building near the woods. I blinked back tears from my eyes.

"Come on," Izaya said. "Why do you think Yuki was trying to keep you on pills before she disappeared?" I held my knees to my chest.

"How do you know about all of that?" I asked.

"I know everything about Ikebukuro. Welcome, everything except you."

His tone made me want to hang up, but my hand was too shaky to move to the button. Now, I sat in a bathtub, crying as my husband kissed me on the head while whispering something to me.

"I feel sick," I whispered.

"So why haven't you hung up yet?"

I froze as my heart jumped in my chest. "What?"

"You want to know the truth about yourself, don't you?"

"Well… yes, but…"

"But?"

I lay down my side, panting.

Too many things started swimming, silently in my head.

Different articles of tragedy flashed in my mind. I saw myself in the ocean as four nuns dragged me out water towards the shore. I found myself in the bathtub, slowly falling unconscious as I slipped under the water. My husband had his hands around my neck, crushing my throat. I sat on the bathroom floor as someone handed me a small baggie of powder. I lay beside that baby in a futon, smiling while he was still alive. I could see myself collapsing on the way to my son's cremation. That jasmine perfume floated in a white room with no windows. My husband smiled with tears in his eyes as he put his hands around my throat again. I plunged a knife into his chest and the blood started to stain his shirt.

It slowly went silent in my head.

"I don't think I can do this," I said in a hoarse whisper.

"That's fine," Izaya said. "We'll talk later. Good evening, Noriko-chan." I didn't move as he hung up. More traces of memories began to flash around in my head, but this time looked faded. I still couldn't hear the sounds and even the words disappeared as the people started to speak. I closed my eyes and gulped.

I think I am going to be sick.

-Kitano-

"Are you frustrated yet?"

I lifted my head in my office on the night before that patient was to be picked up by her husband. The Woman in Red stood before me with more human-like face. Her bright red hair and kimono couldn't hide the wood-like skin on her body.

"Oh, it's you," I said. "What do you mean am I frustrated?"

"Are you frustrated by that patient because of her faith? Frustrated because you couldn't kill her God? Frustrated because you can't understand her?" Her face came within inches of mine. I gritted my teeth as I clenched my fists on my desk.

"Yes," I said. "She agitates me so much. How can she hang onto her God after being depressed and losing her son? I don't get it. I just don't get it!"

The Woman in Red grinned at me like a wild kitsune.

"Then you are ready to free me," she said.


	23. Shinra

Halo Twenty-Two: Shinra:

"[Has you dad explained why he keeps dragging you around to these tadpoles or whatever?]" Celty typed on her PDA. Shinra shrugged.

"No," he said. "But he did let it slip about someone called the Woman in Red. Does that ring a bell?"

"[Vaguely. I remember hearing something about her. Why? What about her?]"

"Dad won't tell me anything else." The underground doctor rubbed his forehead. "The whole thing isn't adding up." Between looking up information about the defunct Chou Mori and trailing Tetsu, he barely had time for Celty anymore. The one time that he had time with his girlfriend work had to tag along. The dullahan leaned back on the couch.

"[Is there something you aren't telling me?]" she typed. Shinra glanced up at her. He knew that it would come to this point. Time to be vague and dodge her question. But when the doctor opened his mouth, there was a knock on the door.

"[Who is that?]" Celty typed.

"I don't know…" Shinra said. He got up and walked over to the door. The doctor opened it a crack and peeked out. Michiko looked up, shuffling her feet.

"Is Kishitani-sensei in right now?" she asked in a small voice. "I need to talk to him. This is really urgent." Shinra opened the door wider with a puzzled look on his face. Michiko placed her hand to her chest and breathed out.

"Oh good," she said. "We need to talk."

"Uh… who are you?" Shinra asked.

"I'll tell you as soon as you let me in," Michiko said. "Please we don't have much time!" The underground doctor noticed the desperate look in the young girl's eyes. She bit on her lower lip as she paced around.

"Alright," he said. Michiko bowed her head and walked into the apartment. Shinra closed the door behind her. The young girl happened to turned towards the bookcase and all of the color drained from her face.

"No…" she murmured. "No, no. No! It's gone! Oh no!"

"What are you talking about?" Shinra asked. Michiko turned to him with big eyes.

"Where the doll that was sitting there?" she asked.

"Doll?" the doctor asked.

"I had a really pretty doll with blue eyes and this black and blue dress! What happened to it?"

It took the underground doctor a few seconds to figure out what she was saying. "Oh, that doll." Shinra gave off a nervous laugh. "Uh… a friend of ours destroyed it back in August and put a whole through our wall. Yeah…" Michiko's eyes widened as she shook her head.

"Your friend should not have done that," she said in a low voice.

"Why?" Shinra asked.

-Inner Circle Meeting-

-February 17th-

Kitano called in the inner circle for another meeting.

"Things have been going well in this cycle," he opened with. "The Blue Squares are dead, the experiments with the tadpoles are going great, and we have successfully opened two of the gates." The inner circle applauded.

"Thank you," Kitano said. He turned to Etsuko sitting beside him. "Do we still have those red pills ready?"

"Yes," the doctor said. She held the baggie of red pills in her hand.

"Good, good," Kitano said. He turned to the rest of his inner circle. "We still have work to do, however." The psychiatrist ran his finger across his tablet. Footage of a map appeared on the screen.

"We have learned that Michiko-san has formed a countermeasure against our plans," he said. Aya gritted her teeth.

"That little brat managed to get one over us anyway," she said.

"She's not a brat, Otomo-sensei," Kitano said. "She is thirty-seven years old, remember?"

Aya pushed back her bangs. "She's still a brat to me."

"Anyway, the interns are out hunting down those dolls," Kitano said. "However, that still leaves us with the different gangs tied to the children." The slide changed to a picture of Mikado and his friends. Aya stood up and walked over to Kitano's side.

"Our plan for isolation is working, but it's not going fast enough," she said.

"Thank you," their founder said. "Do you have the next batch of Mnemosyne ready, Asato-sensei?"

"Why yes," she said. "We still have a couple of problems." Kitano moved his finger along the tablet screen. A series of photos went by on the projector screen.

"Nebula," he said. "Russia, England, Heiwajima Shizuo, and Celty Sturluson." The rest of the inner circle frowned. The first one was a cat and mouse game that was so annoying. Second and third were easy to deal with. But the last two…

"Yeah," Etsuko said.

"What do we do with Heiwajima-san and the dullahan?" Daichi asked. Nobody had an answer.

"Can't kill a dullahan," Junko said. "And she's too powerful, with or without her head."

"Then there's the minotaur," Etsuko said.

"Again with the Greek mythology?" Osamu asked.

"I think it fits him well," the doctor said. "Half-man, half-beast. Heiwajima-san is the perfect minotaur."

"Either way, he is an obstacle in our game," Kitano said.

"We need to tame the minotaur," Etsuko said. "He must have weaknesses."

"Shooting him won't work," Osamu said. "That is one indestructible son of a bitch." Junko sketched Shizuo as a minotaur on her tablet, but shuddered as the results and erased her doodle with her finger.

"We still have one more problem to tend to," Aya muttered.

"What? The Trojan Horse?" Etsuko asked.

"Not him," the younger psychiatrist said. "You're already working on that." She gritted her teeth as she spoke. Junko broke into a cat-like smile.

"Oh, your daughter's little fuck buddy?" she asked. Osamu and Daichi looked at the nurse with alarmed looks on their faces.

"Shut up!" Aya shouted, banging her fists on the table. All eyes fell on her.

"What's going on?" Daichi asked.

"Oh don't you know?" Junko asked.

"Shut your whore mouth, Junko," Aya hissed. "I am warning you." The nurse leaned back, smirking.

"Orihara-san and lovely Mari-chan are shagging," she said. Junko's grin faded when Osamu and Daichi still had dumb looks on their faces. She threw back her head and groaned. _I hate explaining myself to them sometimes_ , the nurse thought.

"They're fucking!" she blurted out. "Orihara-san and lovely Mari-chan are fucking." Aya glared at her with blood in her eyes.

"You!" she snapped.

"What?!" Osamu barked.

"You can't be serious," Daichi said, covering his mouth.

"It's true," Junko said as she regained her cocky air about her. "They've been together since last month." Aya chucked a pen at the nurse's head.

"That's enough!" she shouted. Junko caught the pen between her fingers with a cat-like smirk.

"What's the matter, can't handle the truth?" she asked.

"Shut up!" Aya snapped. Kitano cleared his throat loudly. All eyes directed back over to him.

"Let's get back on focus," he said. "As of right now, we will leave the bored little child be."

"Kitano-sensei!" Aya wailed.

"Hear me out," he said. "It's better than your daughter serve as a distraction than to have that bored little child running around and interfering with our game. I'm sorry, but if your daughter is going to be the one to slow him down, I won't complain." He noticed the annoyed look on Aya's face as she rolled her eyes.

"Rest assured, we will kill that board little child when the time is right," he said. Aya began to perk up.

"You really mean it?" she asked.

"Yes," Kitano said. "But for now, we will all carry on with business as usual until the dolls are destroyed and we find the other five gates. That is all." The inner circle departed for the night. Kitano didn't move until everyone else walked out the door. Etsuko paused and looked over her shoulder.

"Have some paperwork to catch up on?" she asked.

"You can say that," Kitano replied as he pulled out his cell phone. He handed to his old messages in saved folder.

"Understood," his second-in-command said. "Good night." Kitano watched as she walked out the door. He opened the folder in his phone and selected all of his conversations with Yadogiri and hit delete.

The therapist began to reflect back to the day he was assigned Mikado's case two years earlier.

-Shinra, Celty, and Michiko-

"What was so important about that doll we had on the bookcase?" Shinra asked as he handed Michiko tea. Her hands trembled as she held the mug.

"It was meant to conceal something," she said in a low voice. The young girl looked up at Celty.

"Tell me, haven't you noticed anything different about this city? Anything out of place?" she asked.

"[I have seen many creepy-looking cats around the city lately,]" the dullahan typed on her PDA.

"Anything else?"

"[Some people seem to have like mask like faces when I walk by them. I could've sworn I heard one of them hissing at me.]"

Michiko rubbed her forehead. "Bakeneko and hitei-oni." She puffed up her cheeks and looked at the couple.

"A friend of mine and I had set those dolls up all over the city to keep the gates hidden," she said. Shinra walked out of the living room and headed over to his computer. He returned with the map that Shingen had left with him.

"These gates?" the doctor asked as placed the map on the coffee table.

"Yes," Michiko said. "Those dolls were warded with a spell to hide the high energy the gates were giving off. But now it seems that Tandeki has caught on and are going to destroy them."

"[Why are you trying to hide these gates?]" Celty typed. "[Are these bakeneko and hitei-oni involved somehow?]"

"Much worse," Michiko said. "Tandeki is trying to bring the End of Days."

"Like the apocalypse?" Shinra asked.

"Yes," the young girl said. Her hands trembled in her lap.

-Mikado and Masaomi-

Masaomi's questions unwittingly opened more memories for Mikado.

"It doesn't make sense," the blonde-haired boy said.

"What doesn't?" Mikado asked at his computer.

"How exactly did you end up at Chou Mori?" Masaomi asked on his friend's futon. Mikado stopped typing on the keyboard. [A flash of a white room appeared in his mind for a quick second.]

"I told you I don't know," the tadpole boy said in a low voice. "They said I committed murder in a gang fight." [The intern with the crimson nails strapped him down to a metal table.]

"Somehow, I find that hard to believe," Masaomi said. [Mikado began to see his mouth forced open as a giant syringe needle inched closer and closer to his tongue.]

"Are you calling me a liar?" he asked in a trembling voice. "You think I'm making all of this up? You don't think I was actually in Chou Mori? You don't think they tortured me there?" [Another IV with a light pink fluid drained into his arm as he lay in his bed.] His eyes widened as he grew pale. Masaomi shook his head.

"No, I believe you," he said. "I just don't believe the reason why." [A thick leather strap was forced into Mikado's mouth before pads were pressed to his forehead.] Masaomi's calm tone did little to put the tadpole boy at ease.

"What do you mean?" Mikado asked. [The intern with the crimson nails caressed his cheek before moving down his pants.] Masaomi walked over to Mikado at his computer.

"What if you believe the reason you were put in Chou Mori was real, but it actually wasn't?" he asked.

"What?" Mikado asked.

["Don't worry, Chirin-kun," Kitano told the tadpole patient after he was injected in the heart with another experimental drug. "It will feel like you're being torn apart from the inside at first, but your body will get used to it." He patted the patient on the head.] Masaomi pulled up a bookmark on his phone.

"I was bored yesterday and ended up looking around at the crimes around the city from two years ago," he said. "There are no reports about a gang fight in a warehouse."

"No, that can't be right," Mikado said, shaking his head. "I remember it all perfectly. All of that blood on the ground and on my clothes. I wore my gun glove on my hand. I… I…" His breathing grew heavier as he broke into a cold sweat.

"Mikado? Mikado?"

[Mikado found himself in the same room that Kohaku was for the film. He too wore the strange head gear that kept his head forward to a screen while wires held his eyes open. Etsuko injected him with the same needle with the same drug.

"Stay awake, Chirin!" Kitano shouted. The film seemed to go on forever. Mikado didn't know how long he could stay conscious through this jarring movie.]

"Mikado? Mikado!"

The tadpole boy quickly looked up. Masaomi shook him on the shoulder.

"Are you feeling okay, man?" he asked. Mikado slowly nodded as he panted.

"No one was reported missing or dead that month either," Masaomi said.

"So… what does that mean?" Mikado asked. His friend put his hand on his head.

"I think you were set up."

"What?"

Masaomi grabbed him by the cheeks. "Stay focused, man. I want you to think for a minute. Calm down and think, okay?"

His friend gulped as he nodded. His vision was still blurry from all of the flashbacks he was experiencing. Even through that, he could see Masaomi's eyes as clear as day. His friend pressed his lips together.

"Good. Now, who would hate you enough to have you set up to have committed?" he asked. Mikado shook his head with bewildered eyes.

"I… I… I don't know," he said. "Why would somebody do that to me?" All of that confirmed a theory that Masaomi was working on since yesterday morning.

-Shinra, Celty, and Michiko-

"What do you mean bring the End of Days?" Shinra asked. "And how?"

"Kitano-sensei wants to free the Woman in Red," Michiko said.

"Who is the Woman in Red?" the underground doctor asked. The young girl stared at him with big eyes.

"I can't describe in words," she said. "There is are many stories about her, but one thing remains constant. She is deadly enough to wipe us out." Michiko drew her knees to her chest.

"Oh, this is bad," she said. "They've already found two gates on my watch." Her eyes locked on Shinra and Celty.

"Your friend shouldn't have destroyed that doll," Michiko said in a low voice. "He might have damned us all."

"[I don't understand,]" Celty typed.

"Understand what?" Michiko asked.

"[Why are you telling us this?]"

The young girl turned to a nervous-looking Shinra. "You haven't told her, have you?"

"[Told me what? Shinra, what's going?]" Celty typed to her boyfriend. The underground doctor cursed himself. He hoped not to drag the dullahan into this project.

"Uh, well…" Shinra began as he could see his girlfriend "glaring" at him.

_Just like last time_ , Michiko thought as she rubbed her forehead.

* * *

Across the neighborhood, Etsuko had in her earbuds in her phone while she writing out formulas for new drugs to use in experiments for Project Tadpole. She smirked as she listened to Shinra try to explain to Celty what was going in the game.

"Careful Cassandra," the doctor said to herself. "You're running your mouth to the Trojan Horse and the dullahan again. You wouldn't something bad to happen to the little horsey again, would you?" Etsuko snickered as got started on the next formula.

-Tiresias-

The blind woman walked up to Rakuei Gym. She tapped around with her cane and put her hand to her chest. A giant shock vibrated through her chest.

"Here it is!" she said. Tiresias reached into her hair and pulled out a silvery-blue pin.

* * *

Inside, Mikage was closing up from the night when she looked out the window to see a woman with black sunglasses sticking something into the ground in front of the door. _What is she doing out there?_ The instructor went outside to investigate. By the time she stepped out of the gym, the woman had vanished. Mikage looked around.

"Now where did she go?" she asked.

"Hey, sis, what are you doing looking around out there for?" Eijirou asked inside the gym. Mikage turned and looked.

"Just thought I saw someone standing around, looking lost," she said. Mikage closed the door behind her, not noticing the silvery-blue pin planted firmly into the ground.


	24. Hisayo

Halo Twenty-Three: Hisayo:

-June, last year-

There was a man in New York who ran a successful company. About January of last year, he decided to branch out. After months of business negotiations with his business partners in Japan, England, Russia, and Canada, his team sealed a deal with building their branch out in Japan. The man would be taking his young wife with him for a year, permanently if everything went right. Initially, she didn't want to leave the states.

"This will be a new start for us," the man insisted. "I am tired of American life."

"Well, I'm not," she said at her vanity. "We have everything that we could need here in New York. What's so great about Japan anyway?"

"Japan has always had always a good business record with foreign companies," the man reasoned. "We will prosper overseas with this new business branch. Plus, Japan is rich with culture and history. I thought you would love this because you study history so much. You've always prided yourself on being a history major." She tried to hide her smile as her ears twitched at the words "rich with culture and history". He did have a point there. History had always been her weakness. She loved to study it as a little girl. Maybe moving to Japan wouldn't be so bad.

Yet, she couldn't let her husband see that he had won her over so easily.

His wife puffed up her cheeks and frowned.

"Yes, I do like history, but…" she said.

"But?" he asked.

Her lips trembled as she tried to think of a good reason for going against Japan. "What about all of our friends? Most of my life is here in New York."

"This new adventure won't mean anything without you," her husband said. "Besides, it's an assignment so we have to go, so let's make the best of it." His wife felt her true feelings starting to break through the cracks as she fought to keep her frown.

"I'll do it, but I won't like it," she said. The man took her into his arm and cuddled with her.

"You're going to love it, I promise," he whispered in her hair. His wife tried not to smile as she shook her head.

"No, I won't," she lied.

There is another important thing to keep in mind. This woman named Mollie Dylan was interested in dark magic. Their neighbors, friends, and even her own husband didn't know about this secret hobby of hers. In truth, she heard about Japan's mythology and superstitions. Mollie even predicted that her husband would extend his branch out to the country before the year was over. However, the wife had to keep that side of her hidden from their high society world.

Back to the story at hand.

-July, last year-

Evie, the real estate agent showed them around apartment number 27 at Kinko Sekai Apartment Complex.

"Good afternoon," she greeted them at the door. "Welcome!" The husband looked at her with a stoic look on his face. Evie clapped her hands together.

"Right," she said. "Shall we get going?" The couple followed her into the living room. She turned to them in the sunlight.

"As you can see here," the realtor began. "Well-lit to reflect on your wife's lovely complexion." The other woman smiled. Her husband wanted more than that. Evie stood up straight.

"This apartment's been renovated to keep with the modern fit to the rest of the apartments in this neighborhood," she added.

"Is it stable enough?" the husband asked. Evie gave him a sharp nod.

"Yes, sir!" she said. His wife turned to her husband. They whispered between each other for a moment. Mr. Dylan turned back to the realtor. Evie read the look on his face.

"Shall we go on?" she asked. The woman didn't wait for an answer as she walked down the hall. They came into an empty room that faced the city. She looked around at the freshly-painted white walls.

"This is a nice room for your guests or children," the realtor went on. The wife ran her fingertips around the metal doorknob. Her husband knocked on the door with his right knuckles. Evie passed the window to walk over to the other side of the room. But when she passed the glass, she could've sworn there was a black shadow passing along with her moments. Evie passed and backed up for a better look. This time, she only saw her reflection. The realtor blinked at the window.

_What the hell?_ Evie kept staring at the window in front of her as she tried to figure out if what she saw was an illusion or something else.

"Something wrong?" the man asked her. The realtor stood up straight at his words.

"No," she lied. "Just thought I saw something outside." The realtor walked to the doorway.

"Shall we continue?" she asked. Then, Evie walked into the hallway. The couple followed behind with uneasiness about how she said that.

Overall, the tour turned out to be a success and the couple ended up buying the apartment. The whole time, a blackened schoolgirl stood in the parking lot, watching.

-August, last year-

Mollie stood out more than other gaijin in Japan. Her husband worked at his company during the day and came in late for dinner. As their possessions were being moved into the apartment, Mollie found herself bored. Sure, the help socialized with her as they worked around the apartment, but they didn't seem to fond of her.

On the first day, Mollie lay on the couch, staring at the ceiling. She turned her head towards a twenty-something Japanese man setting up her internet connection.

"Are you done yet?" she complained.

"No," the young man answered. Mollie frowned and rolled over onto her stomach. She pouted as she stared at his back. The top of her dress happened to expose cleavage. The young man was hooking up the box to the computer when he froze at the feeling of boobs pressed against his back. He broke out into sweat as his eyes slowly looked behind him. Mollie eyed him like a cat about to devour a mouse.

"M-M-Miss, w-w-what are you doing?" he asked. Her breasts rubbed upwards on his back.

"I'm bored," she murmured. "Entertain me."

"What?!"

"En. Ter. Tain. Me." She licked him on the bottom of his ear lobe after she said that. The young man quickly pushed her off. He stared at her with big eyes. Mollie smiled like a cat as she eyed him.

"What's the matter, baby?" she asked. "Don't tell me that you are a virgin." The young man gulped and went to hooking up the box to the computer. The American woman sat on the floor, pouting.

"You're no fun," she said. Mollie rose to her feet and walked to her bedroom. The hallway felt cold despite the air conditioning being turned off. Once in her room, she pulled out her cell phone.

"Hello?" Mollie asked. "About that offer you gave me the other day. I'll take it." The blackened schoolgirl stood in the corner watching. She appeared to be waiting for something. A little girl with little black pigtails stood by her and leaned her head on her leg. The older girl patted her on the head.

Meanwhile, Mollie lowered her phone.

"Okay, I will be right there," she said. The woman hung up and walked out of the room.

-October, last year-

Something didn't seem right.

Mollie barely left her room anymore. She hadn't been eating or sleeping. Last month, she excused her behavior as doing research on the history of Japanese mythology. Mollie kissed her husband on the lips.

"I'm going to be working on another book," she said. Her husband smiled in their bed.

"I can't wait to read it when you finish," he said. Ever since then, he hasn't heard much from her. Then again, he had his company to grow and expand. The hired help didn't bother to go and bother Mollie while she was working in her room.

In reality, she was working on her dark magic. Mollie could feel a powerful vibe from Ikebukuro and couldn't pass it up. Here in this city she could practice and not feel like she would have to hide her true self. Sure, she was still part of high society and she had to keep it from her husband, but she felt more open to practice her craft. In the summer, she managed to score a connection to expand her craft.

On Halloween, Mollie sat at her desk with her copy of the Book of Amida. The skull on the cover seemed to speak to her. She had to stretch all of her connections to get a hold of this book. Not many wanted to talk to her about the book itself.

"Not many of us dare to tread with that book," an underground book merchant told her three days earlier.

"I am willing to take that risk," Mollie told him in the shop. Today, she ran her fingers along the skull on the cover. Chills ran down her spine. The woman counted down and took a deep breath before opening the book. She began to read the tiny print on the pristine pages.

Around three in the morning, a low rattling noise caught Mollie's ear. She got up from her desk and opened her bedroom door.

"Honey, are you home yet?" Mollie asked. She looked around in the hallway. The lights weren't on and it felt colder than usual. All of the hired help already went home for the evening. Mollie narrowed her eyes.

"Hello?" she asked. The woman then noticed a pale little girl about six-years-old walking by. Her long black pigtails swayed back and forth as she moved. Her little red and white school uniform looked neatly ironed if not slightly dusty on the skirt. Her little white stuffed rabbit hit her little white socks as she dragged it behind her.

"Excuse me!" Mollie shouted. The woman reached down the hall after the little girl. The child kept her eyes downwards as she kept walking. Mollie ended up at the door to the other empty room in the apartment. The chill of death ran through her body as she touched the thick paper. That didn't stop her from opening the door. Mollie slowly walked into the room. Her eyes shifted around as her steps grew slower.

"Hello?" she asked. "Where did you go?" The woman froze when she heard a crunching noise to her left. Mollie turned to see the blackened school girl just inches away from her face. The woman only said one thing.

"Hisayo?" she asked. The blackened ghost girl lifted her hand.

-December, last year-

Mr. Dylan began to pick up that something wasn't right with their apartment. The hired help would look for excuses not to come by and check on Mollie. That being because of one particular incident that happened two weeks before Christmas.

The night before, Mr. Dylan noticed there were footsteps leading up to the back way of the apartment complex, but not going back out. At first, he didn't think much about it. Not many people lived in this building. Maybe it was one of the tenants coming home from a late night.

The next morning, he awoke to strange noises in the ceiling. Mr. Dylan frowned as he lay in bed.

"What the hell is that?" he asked. He reached for his cell phone and made a call to the maintenance man.

"Hello?" he asked. "I think there something in our ceiling. Could you come and check it out?" By the time the maintenance man reached apartment 27, he was greeted at the door by Mollie. At first, she broke into a little smile.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Hello, your husband called me to look around in the ceiling because of a noise complaint," the man in the dusty grey overalls said. "Is he in?"

"He already left for work," she said. "Do come in." The woman moved aside and let the maintenance man inside.

"Where exactly did your husband say the noise was coming from?" he asked. "Which room?"

"Our room," she said.

"Thank you," the big man said. Mollie's face shaded over as he disappeared down the hall.

"This place is cursed, you know?" she asked in a low voice.

"What did you say?" the maintenance man said. Mollie slowly walked down the hall to her bedroom. She closed the door behind her.

"I practice dark magic," Mollie said.

"Okay…" the maintenance man said.

"I have been able to see ghosts and demons trapped in the gates."

"The gates, ma'am?"

"The gates to the apocalypse."

"Okay…"

Mollie walked closer to the bed. "The ending is coming for us all." The maintenance man turned and gave her a strange look.

"What?" he asked. The American woman's face resembled a demon as she lowered her head and lit her eyes roll upwards.

"We're all going to die," she said. "The Woman in Red will kill us all once she is freed."

"Are you crazy, lady?"

"I have only one question to ask you."

"What?"

By now, Mollie only stood inches away from him. "Are you prepared to die for her?" Needless to say, that maintenance man didn't come back to that apartment.

-March-

Mollie sat on the floor of her bedroom, smirking. She could tell that she had some guests standing outside of her apartment. Maybe she should go out to the balcony and see who they were.

The woman rose to her feet and walked over to the glass doors.

* * *

By afternoon, Masaomi went by the hospital to visit Saki again. However, he ran into another little "friend" on the way inside. The gang leader found Michiko sitting in front of the hospital. Her face perked up when she saw him.

"Hey!" she chirped. The boy tried to remain calm in front of her.

"You're looking well," he said.

"Ne!" Michiko cheered. Masaomi tried to keep calm. _We're back that again?_ The young girl leaned in, smiling.

"So," she said. "What's been going on?" The boy gave her an odd look.

"Why?" he asked.

"I want to know," she said. "Please?" Masaomi dropped his shoulders.

"Fine," he said. "The apartment outside of the city has been sold." Michiko paused at that statement.

"What did you say?" she asked in a low voice.

"Some real estate agent sold that apartment outside of the city," Masaomi repeated. The young girl broke down into trembling as she grabbed onto her knees.

"Take me there," she said in a small voice. The boy looked at her for a moment.

"What?" he asked. Michiko leapt forward and grabbed onto his jacket.

"Take me to the apartment now!" she yelled. Masaomi put up his hands.

"Okay, okay," he said. In an hour, they made it down to Kinko Sekai Apartments. Michiko looked up at the windows. Her older "friend" still didn't get what she was looking for.

"Why are we here?" he asked.

"Shhh!" Michiko hissed as she kept looking up at the balconies on the side facing the city. She took slow steps to that one apartment that she had encountered one too many times before. The girl finally stopped at the exact one she was looking for. A pale look washed over her face. Masaomi tried to look with her.

"What is it, Michiko-chan?" he asked. She only pointed upwards in her panicked silence. The boy looked to see a woman about thirty with curly dark hair looking down at them. Her facial expression looked so dead as she looked down at the children below. The woman didn't even say a word as she turned and walked back into her apartment. Michiko's heart sank in worry as she knew what would be unfolding next.

"Don't tell me Hisayo already…" she mumbled. The young girl sank to her knees as she began panting with her hands to her chest.

"Michi? Michi?" Masaomi asked. His voice sounded so distant to her ears as the fear took over her mind once again.

-February-

In the early morning hours, Masaomi's phone buzzed. The boy grumbled to himself as he reached for his phone. He noticed a new text in his inbox. Masaomi pressed the bold envelope icon. The baffling text was enough to wake him up.

"Please meet me down at the library. This is urgent. There is something that I have to desperately show you."


	25. Mari

Halo Twenty-Four: Mari:

Mari sat at the computer, typing away.

Three of Aya's other interns watched her as they stood around talking.

"She's always working around here," one of them said. "Doesn't she have a life outside of this place?"

"Well, she has a boyfriend," another one said. The two ladies stared at her with wide eyes.

"Are you serious?" a third intern said.

"Who?" the first one asked.

"Orihara Izaya," the second intern said. The first one wrinkled her nose.

"That guy?" she asked. "Why would she want to go out with a guy like that?"

"Aw, he is kind of cute," the second one said.

"Something is wrong with that guy," the third one said. "He seems like he's bad news."

"But he is still kind of hot," the second intern said.

"You're weird," the first one said.

"Excuse me, could you guys please be quiet? I'm trying to finish this coding on the computer here," Mari said without turning around. "If you have enough time to stand around and talk about other people's love lives, then you can do something more productive." The interns drew their mouths closed and walked off. Mari sighed and closed up the code she working on.

_This has to stop._

How many times had they played this game? They couldn't keep doing this anymore. Mari realized this a long time ago. The inner circle refused to listen. She decided to take matter into her own hands.

However, she's been a bit distracted this time.

Mari's phone vibrated, but she hung it up. She sighed and rolled her eyes. Why couldn't Izaya get the gist? She made it clear that they weren't in a relationship. No phone calls. No dates. No meeting friends and family. She didn't even want to be intimate with him. Even through all of that, Mari had to keep him close. The intern knew that his days were numbered. If she could get him away from Tandeki just in time…

Mari's phone vibrated next to her again.

"Are you going to answer that?" a voice asked over her head. Mari looked up to see Aya standing over her with a stone-cold look on her face.

"No," Mari said.

"It could be important," Aya said.

"Then they'll call back later." Her daughter turned off her phone and shoved it into her bag. She went back to typing the new code.

"You sure it isn't your boyfriend?" the psychiatrist asked with an eyebrow raised.

"He's not my boyfriend, mom," Mari said.

"Okay, sex buddy, whatever." She looked at the computer screen.

"Did you want something?"

"Excuse me?"

"What did you want, mom? You never come down here to talk to me."

"Ah, yes. How is the code coming along?"

"Fine. I'm just about down with the last two of the day." Mari glanced from the computer screen to see her mother narrowing her eyes at her.

"What?" she asked.

"I'm curious about something," Aya said.

"What?"

"How did Michiko-san know to ward the dolls and put them up around the city?"

Mari didn't look up from her coding. "I don't know. She's been through the same time cycles we have."

"True, but she's never had the advantage over us like this before."

"What exactly are you getting at?"

Aya lifted her daughter's head from the computer. "I believe she had help from the inside."

"And why are you telling me this?"

"Did _you_ tell her how to hide the gates?"

Mari's facial expression didn't change. "Why would I do that?"

"You've never liked this game, have you?"

"My thoughts have no meaning to you and your colleagues, mom. Even if I said what I think, you won't listen to me."

"Look me in the eye and tell me you didn't tell Michiko-san about the warded dolls."

"No, I did not. Why would I tell her how to hide the gates and then show you guys the dolls afterwards? Can I get back to work now?"

Aya let go of her daughter's head. "I will be checking." Mari went back to typing the code as her mother walked away. The intern pressed her lips together. She already knew what was coming next. Two gates already opened and now Yui and Yuzuru were looking for the third one. Luckily, Michiko had found and marked the Heaven gates already.

Once she finished up the new codes, Mari shut down the computer, picked up her bag, and left. She didn't turn on her phone until she was outside of Rampo Biotech. The intern frowned she looked at her screen.

Fifteen missed calls.

Can't he take a hint? Mari sighed and dialed him back.

"You rang?" she asked.

"You don't sound so happy to hear from me," Izaya said.

"I told you not to call me at work."

"But I'm bored! Namie's dead and I'm so alone."

"What do you want?"

"Are you doing anything this weekend?"

"Why?"

"I'm bored. I have nothing else to do."

Mari sighed. "We can't keep doing this. People are starting to talk at work."

"Aw, what? Are you ashamed of me?"

"It's not that." Mari bit on her fingers. Every time she tries to warn Izaya about his impending death, he seems to ignore her. She can tell that he knows his fat awaiting him. But why doesn't he try to run?

"Don't you care about your life?" Mari asked.

"Of course I do," Izaya said.

"Then why won't you run! They we kill you once you are used up! Don't you understand that?"

"I know," Izaya said. His tone made it sound like this was nothing new to him. Mari's face went pale.

"Izaya… how much of your memories do you have back?" she asked in a low voice.

* * *

Aya watched her daughter talking on the phone from inside. She glared as she had a guess who was on the other line. The psychiatrist had to break them up and dispose of Izaya. It annoyed her that she couldn't act right away. Kitano didn't want to draw unwanted attention to them and their activities. But she couldn't stand Izaya seducing her daughter any longer.

"You can't do anything about it, you know?" a voice asked behind her. "Mari-chan's a grown woman." Aya gritted her teeth.

"Shut up, Junko!" she barked. The nurse chuckled and walked in the office. She slapped her on the back.

"You might have to start calling him son-in-law," Junko said.

"Over my dead body," Aya muttered under her breath. She balled up her hands into fists. The nurse covered her mouth, giggling.

"Shut up," the psychiatrist hissed. Junko was about to speak when their phones buzzed. The women looked at their phones.

"Ah, the third gate's been found," the nurse said. Aya read the text and looked back out the window. Mari was nowhere in sight.

* * *

Walking home alone, Mari looked at her phone. She forwarded the text to the number that she had kept in contact with ever since she realized out pointless this game was. The intern pushed up her red-framed glasses and resumed her walk home.

That still left Izaya like a weight around her waist and ankle.


	26. Chapter 26

Halo Twenty-Five: Questions:

Kitano sat alone in his office.

[Kitano: Why did I create the tadpoles? To explain that, I have to go back to when I first started this game.]

-August 10th, 1987-

Kitano sat in his office, going over the notes of his patients for the day. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her again. She made no sound as she walked over to his chair.

"Oh, it's you," the therapist said. "To what do I owe the pleasant of seeing your face again?"

"I heard you calling to me earlier," the Woman in Red purred in his ear.

"When?" Kitano asked.

"I hear your heart calling out to me day and night. Sometimes I wonder if it ever shuts up."

"Such a thing is possible?"

"Yes. So what did you want to ask me?"

Her question seemed to linger in his mind before he could answer it. "Ah, yes. I did have something I wanted to ask you."

"What is that?"

Kitano turned his chair to her. "What happens after you destroy the world?"

"Why would you want to know that?" she asked. The middle-aged therapist shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.

"I have always wondered that after I had that nun read me the book of Revelation every day when I was in the hospital. After the world is destroyed, what comes next? Does it start over or does it stay destroyed?"

"And why would such a thing concern a human like you?" the Woman in Red asked, now intrigued.

"Only curious," he said. "The more I think about it, the more I want to see what happens when you finish your work." The Woman in Red raised an eyebrow.

"Are you saying that you are going to breech our contract when you are finished freeing me?" she asked.

"Oh, no, no, no," Kitano said, shaking his head. "I intend to pay the full price when you are freed. No, what I had in mind was creating a sort of witness to see your glorious destruction and its aftermath."

"That can't be possible," she said. "I am powerful enough to kill all living things around me. By the time I'm done with destroying this world, there will be nothing left."

"But not right away, correct?"

"Huh?"

"You remember when we talked about your slowing down your destruction to enjoy the sensations and beauty of your work?"

"Yes…"

"Well, this witness will have plenty of time to see it all before your work is done."

"And how will they survive me?"

Kitano turned his chair back to his desk. "Let me work on that. And when the time is right, you will come to see the fruits of my labor." The psychiatrist returned to his paperwork. The Woman in Red gave him a peculiar look.

"You're a weird little man," she said before she disappeared back to her prison. Kitano smiled to himself as the wheels in his head began to turn.

-Present Day-

[Kitano: The Russians want to make my precious pets into war machines. They want the ultimate soldier. They have this dream of the world being a battlefield as the End of Days approaches. One tadpole to take down countless armies and ensure their victory in the dying world. I don't know whether laugh or vomit. The Russians are so scared of their mortality that they will do anything to beat death. It's so funny, when people have been close to death, they no longer fear it.]

-Mikado-

He can't sleep anymore.

Could it be possible to hear every sound of the city every night? Mikado lay awake in his futon as he could hear the traffic of the city miles away. Ever since the tadpoles got their lost senses back, everything became amplified.

"Doesn't the city ever shut up?" Nami complained.

"We're not that lucky," Mikado said.

"When did everything get so loud and bright?"

"I have no idea." Mikado looked over to see Emily rubbing her forehead. She whimpered as she Taiyou rubbed her small shoulders.

"Your head still hurts?" Mikado whispered. The younger tadpole nodded. The sounds didn't come from the outside either. Kohaku herself looked like she hadn't slept in days. Mikado remembered that expression of discomfort of hers too well. He patted her on the head.

"We all feel it too," he whispered. The tadpole girl covered her ears and rolled over.

"That doesn't help," Nami said. "It's going to make it louder." Kohaku whimpered in response.

"Shhh, do you hear that?" Mikado asked.

"What?" Emily asked. The boy tadpole stood up and walked out the door.

"Mikado?" Nami asked.

Outside, Mikado stopped the source of the car door slamming. A white van sat facing his apartment a few feet away. This wasn't the first time he heard this vehicle. Three days ago, he heard pulling out and heading towards the city. Behind him, the door opened.

"Is it them again?" Kohaku asked.

"Yes," Mikado said, nodding.

"What do they want with us?" Nami asked.

"I don't know," the boy said. He walked over across the street where the van was parked. The girls followed behind.

* * *

One of the guys from Nebula had just gotten back into the van.

"Any new activity yet?" he asked his partner.

"No, it's been pretty quiet," the other doctor said.

The first doctor frowned. "That can't be right." He pulled the monitor over into his lap. A puzzled look came onto his face.

"Where did they go?" he asked.

"Huh?" his partner asked.

Wham!

The men in the white coats jumped and whirled around. They looked at each other panting.

"What was that?" the partner mouthed. The first doctor pushed open the van door. Mikado and the girl tadpoles stood outside. The lone male had the eyes of a cold predator.

"Tell us why you've been sitting outside of my apartment for weeks now," Mikado said with a commanding tone.

-Tetsu-

On the other side, Tetsu sat up in bed. He couldn't take it anymore. The fire, the fear, the sounds of the city, and the eyes watching him outside.

Something had to give.

Tetsu jumped out of bed and put on his coat.

"Baby?" Taichi asked as the tadpole walked out the door. Tetsu walked up to the white van parked outside of his apartment. He drew in a deep breath and pounded on the door with his gloved hand.

"Come out here!" the tadpole yelled. "I know you have been watching me for weeks now! Get out here and show yourself!" Tetsu folded his arms across his chest as the van door opened. Shinra and Shingen stared at him with big eyes.

"Don't move," the older masked man said. "Maybe he doesn't see us."

"I can see you right there!" Tetsu shouted.

"No, you don't!" Shingen said. The tadpole sighed and shook his head.

"This is stalking, you know?" he said. "I could have you guys arrested unless you give me some answers." Shinra turned to his father.

"Do something," he whispered.

"Uh…" the older doctor said. Tetsu frowned and shook his head.

"Looks like I have no choice," he said. The tadpole removed his right glove and held up his hand.

"No! You don't have to do that!" Shinra shouted as a ball of fire formed in Tetsu's hand. That's when the radio in the van crackled.

"Boss! We've got serious trouble!" a man's voice filled the inside. "The subjects found us! I repeat, the subjects have found us!" Shingen quickly reached for the radio.

"It's funny you should say that," he said, nervously laughing. "We're kind of in the same situation, over."

"What?" the man over the radio asked. Shingen looked over at the glaring tadpole with the fireball in his hand.

"In fact, we'll come to where you are," he said.

"But sir…"

"Uh… stay right there." Shingen turned off the radio before the doctor on the other end could say another word. The fireball in Tetsu's hand vanished and he put his glove back on.

"Please… get in," Shinra said. "Just… don't burn us."

"Thank you," Tetsu said, coldly. He climbed into the van and Shingen drove off.

"Where are we going now?" he asked.

"We're going to meet some friends of ours," the masked doctor said.

"And you're going to tell me everything once we get to your friends, right?" the tadpole asked.

"Yes."

"Okay."

The three men didn't speak for the rest of the ride.

[Kitano: The English want to make my darling pets into gods. They want to turn the tadpole into breeding horses and produce the perfect child. Too bad for them, we've had half of the third generation castrated. Fourteen chances for the perfect god child. I almost laughing at this. A god child, really? They just want a god-puppet to control so they can rule the End of Days. Don't they know that it is worthless? We are going to be dead soon anyway.]

-Akiko-

Akiko's plum-colored ponytail bounced as she walked home. She glared as she glanced behind her. That blonde lady with the mask on her head was at it again. Five weeks and she still couldn't get rid of her. It was like that woman could predict where she was heading next. No matter how hard she tried to shake her off, this lady managed to keep up with Akiko.

Time to change tactics.

Akiko stopped in her tracks and turned around.

"You! Stop following me! Go away!" she shouted. Emilia froze in her tracks as her eyes went blank.

"Yes," she said, dazed. Akiko felt proud as the doctor turned and walked away. However, a better idea crossed her mind as an opportunity was about to slip away.

"You!" the teenaged girl shouted. "Come back here!" Emilia paused and turned back around. She stood inches away from Akiko. The girl folded her arms across her chest.

"Who are you and why are you following me?" she asked.

"My name is Emilia Kishitani," the blonde woman said. "I work for this company of Nebula and I was told to track you."

"Why?"

"Because you are a tadpole."

"Why?"

"They haven't told us why yet."

Akiko thought about this information for a minute. _Maybe I could use this to my advantage._

"Take me to your team," she commanded. "Call them up while you're at it."

"Yes, madam," Emilia said. Akiko smirked as she followed the doctor with the cell phone in her hand down the street.

-Aoba-

Aoba looked at his phone. How humiliating that he would resort to this. Still, Kaori persisted in her campaign to make his life miserable until he backed off of Chirin, whoever he was. At this rate, someone would probably find his body in a ditch somewhere.

Aoba puffed up his cheeks and made the call.

"Hello, Aniki," he said. "It's me, I need your help…"

-Kitano-

Kitano sat in his darkened office, smirking.

[Kitano: My beloved pets will not be war machines or god-like puppets.]


	27. Widow

Halo Twenty-Six: Widow:

-October, Two Years-

Three days had passed since the alpha drug, Amaterasu, had been administered. Kitano walked through the main test room in the Guillotine Hill ward, looking. He was in for a surprise this morning when Etsuko read through the patients that survive.

"Read me back who's still alive," Kitano said at his desk an hour early. Etsuko pulled up the file on her tablet.

"Shounen A-L, Shoujo A-Ko, Shoujo L, X, P, Y, and Q, Shounen W, P, and M…" she read off. Kitano turned to her with a shocked look on his face.

"Shounen M's still alive?" he asked.

"That is correct," Etsuko said. "Alive and stable." Her partner rose to his feet and walked out of his office.

"Katsuhiro?" the doctor asked.

Now, Kitano looked through the twenty-eight bed for Shounen M. At the end of the row, the therapist found him.

Mikado lay up in his new bed. Despite the dazed look in his eyes and his lack of comprehending what was going on around him, he could still see and hear everything. Kitano walked up to the foot of his bed.

"This is quite the surprise," he said. "You actually survived the first drug in this trial." The psychiatrist sat down at the foot of the bed.

"I was ready to tell your parents some hokey story about how you died in a tragic accident and how your body was never found. But, you saved me the trouble. You amazed me by living, Shoun…"

Kitano paused and shook his head.

"No, Shounen M doesn't suit you," he said. "You deserve a special name. I shall give you one right now." The therapist stared at the patient's blank expression. He would have to run a CT scan on Mikado late just to check for brain activity. Other than that, the patient looked so helpless lying there in his bed, staring at his captor. The more Kitano looked at Mikado, only one name popped up in the former doctor's head.

"Chirin."

-Present Day-

-Ikebukuro Station, 7:45 p.m.-

Yui, Yuzuru, and Hecate walked through the busy crowd. Yuzuru's crystal floated in her hand as she walked by.

"Can we get closer to the exact point?" Yui whispered.

"Yes," Hecate said. "I already know where to open the gate." The newcomer paused when she looked ahead in the crowd. "However, that's not the only problem we have right now."

"What?" Yui asked. Hecate pointed from a short distance from them. Michiko stood near the rails.

"Aw, fucking Michiko!" Yui complained. "How the hell did she know we were here?"

"We have to deal with her quickly before time runs out," Yuzuru said in a quiet voice.

" _You will not get past me!_ " Michiko shouted in Hecate's head. The Nightcomer didn't move.

" _Stand aside,_ " she said back.

" _No! You don't know what you are trying to unleash!_ "

" _You know that we have to do this, Michiko. Your efforts are all in vain._ "

" _I won't allow you to do this! Don't you see that you will kill countless numbers of innocent people? All for what? Tell me all for what?_ "

" _We are doing this for the new world!_ "

* * *

Michiko bit her lower lip as she looked around. This would be much easier if this station wasn't so crowded. _My magic isn't as strong as it used to be. The only thing I can do is stall them long enough for Tiresias to put down the next pin._ Her eyes shifted around the crowd.

* * *

"What's she doing?" Yui whispered to Yuzuru.

"They are talking to each other," the other intern whispered back. Yui gave her a funny look.

"How?" she asked.

"It's telepathic."

"They can do that?"

Hecate began walking closer. On the other side, Michiko opened her right hand wide. She would have to make this as quick as possible.

"You sure you want to do that?" the nightcomer's voice asked over her head. Michiko jerked her head upwards. Hecate smirked and flicked her in the forehead. The young girl was sent flying backwards. She landed on the ground, sliding across the ground. Michiko sat up, gritting her teeth. She held up her hand.

"I will not let you open that gate!" the young girl shouted. A bright red light formed in her hand and she shot it at Hecate. The nightcomer dodged with ease, leaving the energy shot hit the wall. Michiko shot more energy balls back to back from her hands. Each time she got hit, the witch gritted her teeth as her nostrils flared.

"I do not have time to deal with you!" Hecate shouted. She blasted a silver wave towards the girl. This time, Michiko leapt forward and rammed the witch in the stomach. She happened to look up and see people filming the fight with their cell phones.

"Not good!" the young girl shouted. She jumped up and ran further into the crowd, praying they would follow her.

"Everyone!" Michiko shouted. "Get out of here! These people are dangerous! You will die if you get close to them!" Yui gritted her teeth back in the crowd.

"You!" she shouted. She started to go after the child-woman, but Yuzuru grabbed her by the shoulder. Yui turned to see her partner shaking her head.

"But why?" she asked.

"No need," Yuzuru said. She pointed behind them. The interns turned around as the ground shook underneath them. The people around them struggled to remain standing. Yui and Yuzuru took in the whispering around them.

"Was that an earthquake?"

"What was that fight a few minutes ago?"

"Was that for a movie production?"

"Maybe it was a cosplay thing."

"Those were some cool special effects."

"It was probably a publicity stunt."

Meanwhile, Hecate stood with her wounds healing on her body, smirking. In her right hand, she had two long strands of Michiko's hair.

* * *

Michiko had made it outside the West Exit gate when she felt the ground shake. Her heart froze before it dropped. Suddenly, her cell phone buzzed. Michiko looked at the screen and opened the new text.

"Found the third Heaven gate."

The young girl sank to her knees with her hand to her chest. "Good, the night wasn't a complete loss." But then, Michiko froze when she felt like someone was watching her. She looked up and a lump formed in her throat.

"No…"

A woman in jeans and a deep red sweater dragged herself towards the young girl. Michiko stumbled backwards, crawling away and panting.

"No! No! No!" she shouted over and over. The woman continued walking closer with a box cutter in her hand. Michiko managed to push herself back to her feet and run back into the exit. She shut her eyes, praying that the woman wouldn't be able to cross the barrier now that the third gate had been tagged.

-Tadpoles and Nebula-

Mikado and the girls stared down the two guys in the van when another van pulled up. Shinra, Shingen, and Tetsu all exited the vehicle. Automatically, the tadpoles began to sense one another with a tingle in their spines.

"You're… like me?" Tetsu asked.

"Who are you and what are you doing with Shinra?" Mikado asked. The younger doctor sheepishly laughed.

"Uh… well…" he began.

"I found these two parked outside of my apartment spying on me," Tetsu spoke up.

"Uh… who are you?" Nami asked.

"I could ask you the same thing," the older boy said back.

"Now, now, I'm sure you all have many questions," Shingen said. Mikado and the other tadpoles froze.

"Another one?" Emily asked. Everyone turned to see Akiko with Emilia.

"Emilia?" Shingen asked. His wife sheepishly chuckled.

"It appears that Akiko-chan has captured me," she said. The tadpole girl peeked up and saw everyone else staring at her.

"Who are all of you?" she asked.

"Who the hell are you?" Nami asked. Shingen finally stuck up his hands in the air.

"Okay, okay," he said. "I know you have all have many questions. My son will explain everything." Shinra whipped his head around.

"Dad!" he shouted. The older doctor shrugged his shoulders.

* * *

The tadpoles sat on the ground in front of Shinra. The young underground doctor rubbed his forehead. _Why did Dad have to drop all of this on me?_

"Well, spit it out," Akiko said. "What the hell is going on with us?" Shinra puffed up his cheeks as he looked at his awaiting audience.

"How much do you all remember about what happened to you?" he asked. The tadpoles looked rather reluctant to say anything. Shinra had the answer he needed from their uncomfortable silences.

"Alright," he said. "You are all subjects in Tandeki's Tadpole Project."

"Tadpole Project?" Mikado asked.

"Yes," Shinra said. He paced himself for the next part.

"Kitano-sensei is creating a witness for the apocalypse," Shingen cut in. His son turned to him, frowning.

"Couldn't you be a little gentler with the news?" he asked. The tadpoles looked at the doctors with faces of shock.

"The world is ending?" Tetsu asked.

"Tandeki are playing a game where starting the apocalypse is the goal," Shingen said. "This isn't the first time they have done this either."

"You don't know how high this goes," Mikado muttered to himself.

"Excuse me?" Shinra asked. The founder of the Dollars looked him in the eye.

"Tell me, Shinra," he said. "Why do we have these powers? Why are we able to hear things much louder and sharper than before?"

"It because of the drugs that were injected into your bodies," he said.

"Kitano-sensei needs the witness to be strong enough to survive the destruction of the world long enough to see the aftermath," Shingen added. "You all are far from perfect in his eyes. Which is why they have started up the Tadpole Project again." Judging by the looks on the tadpoles' faces, this all seemed too much for them to take in.

"Well… is there any way to reserve this?" Mikado asked. Shinra lowered his head.

"No," he said in a quiet voice. "We have looked and there is no way to change you all back."

"So, we're stuck like this forever?" Kohaku asked.

"Yes," the younger doctor said. Mikado clenched his fists in his lap. Satoshi's words began to echo in his head.

"You have no idea how high up this goes… More of us… It's getting worse… Tandeki… not done… with us… the end is coming…"

-Izaya and Hikari-

"So the game really begins tonight," Izaya said to himself in his office. "Three gates done, four more to go." He looked at his board game on his desk. Three Othello pieces were flipped over to black on the board. A black king stood in the center with little black pawns.

"What are you going to do now that you know the truth, Mikado-kun?" he asked. "You know they are going to make you less human now, right? If they make you into a powerful super being, you won't be so fun to play anymore. You'll just be another boring monster like Celty or Shizu-chan. Where's the fun in that?" He placed his finger on the cross of the king's cross, wobbling the piece around in little circles.

"Quite ironic, wouldn't you say, Namie?" Izaya asked. He looked up when there was no answer. That's right, she's not here anymore.

"Oh."

However, he wouldn't be alone for long.

"My, my, my," a girl's voice spoke up. "Don't you ever get tired of hearing yourself talk?" Izaya jerked his head upwards.

"Who's there?" he asked with his knife in his hand. A girl with long black pigtails and light red eyes walked forward. She wore a Raira academy uniform. The information broker gave her a puzzled look.

"Uh… who are you?" he asked. "How did you even get past security?" It was then he noticed something off about this girl.

"Oh, I see," Izaya said, smirking. "You've possessed that human, didn't you?" The girl walked forward.

"Quite perceptive, Orihara Izaya," she said.

"How long have you had that vessel?"

"About five weeks now."

"Would you like to tell me your name?"

"Which one- this body's or mine?"

Izaya put up his hands in a shrug. "Both."

The girl leaned forward on the information broker's desk. "Very well. This body is named Hikari. I myself am called Hisan."

"Misery, huh?" Izaya asked. "And what would a lowly demon like yourself want with little old me?"

"I didn't know at first," she replied.

"What?" the information broker asked. The possessed girl hopped up onto his desk and sat down.

"I found this body when she was about to jump off of the Tokyo Hands building," Hikari/Hisan said. "Some dumb drama over a cheating boyfriend. Good thing I found her before my cousins could push her to jump. Anyway, as soon as I took over, I saw visions of you and couldn't figure out why." Her face came within inches of his.

"Now that we've met," she said. "I can see why."

"And that is?" Izaya asked.

"We can feel your soul leaking out of your body!"

Izaya looked so confused at this statement. "We?"

"Oh, don't tell you haven't noticed it!" Hisan's lips curved into a twisted smirk. "Well, this is a first! The great Orihara Izaya doesn't know something big coming for Ikebukuro. That's so shocking!"

Izaya gritted his teeth. "Is that all you're here to tell me about?" Hisan tilted her head.

"I'm curious about something," she said. "How exactly are you going to die this time?"

"Excuse me?" the information broker asked. Hisan smiled and shook her head.

"You don't remember the various times you died, do you?" she asked. "Let me count the ways. Car accidents, hit-and-run, stabbed, shot, beaten to death, poisoned. I wonder what they'll go with this time."

"Please, help me!" Hikari screamed. "He's taken over my body and…!"

"I thought I told you to shut up in there," Hisan muttered as he pushed the vessel back in her mental cage. The possessed girl turned her attention back to Izaya.

"I apologize for that," she said. "She has a tendency to try and come out at the worst possible moments." Hisan happened to check Izaya smirking at her.

"What?" she asked. The information broker leaned back in his chair.

"You talk big, but you're really just a lowly hitei-oni who can't control your vessel," he said. Izaya took in the delight of Hikari/Hisan looking annoyed for one second before regaining their composure.

"That may be so," she said. "But I'm not the one who has their days numbered, am I? You can put down others and make them miserable all you want, but you won't have long to live." Her face came within inches of his again.

"You should really listen to your little girlfriend," she said. "Why she's trying to save your sorry ass, I have no idea. But, it's going to be all in vain again. You're just going to end up dead and the best is that no one is even going to notice this. You have a good night Information broker-san." Hikari/Hisan leapt off of the desk and vanished into thin air.

That would be one of the last times Izaya would look so cocky.


End file.
